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Monday, October 29, 2007

The Fall Festival

First of all, for those of you who have not seen them, I am so sorry. I did not get good shots of the kids in their costumes. Not thoughts of that at all. Why? What is dressing up for in not a photo op? That being said...

Sunday afternoon we woke the kids up from their naps and finally allowed them to don their costumes. Thomas transformed into Sheriff Woody (Toy Story) and Sarah Grace became a Fairy Princess Ballerina. Elizabeth got a cool new set of pajamas.

We arrived at the church for the Fall Festival and the kids were thrilled. Yes, they liked the inflatables and the pop corn and the hay ride and cake walk and other assorted activities, but I think their favorite part was being allowed to essentially run free in the parking lot! (with several sets of loving church family eyes helping us to keep up with them!)



Thomas had a blast sliding down the slides and jumping in the screened in jumper. Sarah Grace won Brownies at the cake walk and loved riding around on the hay ride and eating bags and bags of popcorn.



We did stuff Elizabeth into a cute pumpkin costume that had a wonderful head covering to help shield her from the chilly evening air. She looked adorable and was snug as a bug. I think she was the cutest punkin there! I even snuck her a bite or two of cotton candy, very much so to her pleasure!



At costume contest time, we managed to get the kids to stand 'still' long enough for pictures. Sarah Grace waved her butterfly wand around and ate popcorn and looked sweet. Thomas came home with a prize for great costume (my head swelled, since I managed to put it all together!). A prize that he promptly handed to me and asked to go on the hayride again.



As we were getting ready to bundle everyone out of the parking lot, I found me a jousting partner. We probably would have had a good joust or two if we had had more time to practice (like a few weeks!!). But we both left laughing, and left all the teenage boys laughing, too!

Friday, October 26, 2007

After The Rain...

After a week full of much needed rain, my wits are gone. There is only so much you can do and only so long you can stay inside with a tad of saneness left over for a not rainy day. After the kids woke up from an early nap today, I made them go outside. Yes, made. They both noised about, fussing over how they wanted to play Noah's Ark and Little People and Honey Bee Jumper. Nope. I was having none of that.

OUT! The command had been issued. I even sent them out with cups of juice and bowls of animal crackers, something I don't like to do because the cups and bowls mysteriously never make it back inside without a search and rescue.

I went about doing laundry (I swear, I actually do other things, it's just that the laundry will walk off with us in tow if I don't work to keep it at bay) and cleaning at the lunch mess. They came in once. Some excuse about needing to go potty. Whatever.

They tried to stay in after that, but my will prevailed. After nearly two hours of very peaceful play, I looked outside to see them horsing around on the swings. Here are the pictures I managed to take through the window before they noticed me. Once they saw me, they wanted in. The spell had broken, it was over.

I let them, for now. We'll see what tomorrow brings...



Little Miss Messy Face


It has become a bit of a tradition to take a picture of the first teething cookie picture. Let me present to you a very satisfied Elizabeth. She enjoyed gnawing at the cookie and banging it on her tray almost as much as we loved watching her contentedness at 'feeding' herself and making the mess you see before you!

4 Years Ago...

October 25, 2003

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Random Stuff

#1 First of all, I would like to gripe with UPS. I really want that package to come. It contains clothes for me! Not my kids, me. Me, me, me. Get here already!

#2 I would like to share with you an overheard conversation between Thomas and Sarah Grace from the bathtub last night.

*splish, splash, giggle, splatter, splash, splash, giggle, splat, giggle, splash, splish, giggle*

Sarah Grace: You are splashing, Domas.

Thomas: Yes. I am splashing. Cry, Sarah. You don't like it.

Sarah Grace: (who had been giggling) Waaaaahhhhhhh-aaaaahhh! Wuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

Thomas: Now, stop.

Sarah Grace: *Silence*

Thomas: Cry again, Sarah.

Sarah Grace: Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Aaaaaaaa-uh-ahhhhhhhhhh-uh-ahhhhhhhhhh!

And so goes the scene. Now, I must give you more info so that you can fully understand the chagrin felt by myself and Joshua. Just minutes before all of this, Thomas had been verbally corrected for splashing water at Sarah Grace's face. Not liking water in her face, she had wailed about the injustice, causing Joshua to respond and reprimand Thomas. But now, from the next room as I was finally making the kids beds, I hear this carefully planned out fussing. Now, what do you do what that?


#3 My son looked me in the eye today after I had told him not to do something and said "Don't tell me what to do." Let the good times roll, friends. His little attitude has become more challenging. He is learning to put words to his disobedience, which somehow makes me perceive it as worse. Intentional rather than, well, just learning the rules of the game, know what I mean? Suffice it to say, we are in a new chapter of parenting.

#4 I have made up two recipes in the last two days. Neither one really made up as in super special original, but more importantly, neither one read off of a recipe sheet. I don't make food ideas up on the fly. This is an accomplishment for me folks! I fudge around on the measurements sometimes, but I ALWAYS have a recipe card in front of me. New territory, lemme tell ya. And, AND, both meals were good! Ha! Pat my back.

Okay, done gloating. For now. ;)

#5 Ready to sell the house. Any takers??

Monday, October 22, 2007

Home Again

I did manage to get my home nice and neat whilst my family was away in various parts of northeast Alabama. Not that you could tell it today. No, in fact, I am expecting a UPS shipment soon and I was grateful that it did not come today. I didn't want the delivery person to peek in at the chaos! The house was that messy. The kids managed to trash the place in the few hours that we were actually home yesterday. I mean, fully trash it. Dirty laundry all over the floor (because if I don't tell them to take it to the hamper, then it just stays underfoot), books and toys strewn about, a couple of sippy cups and bottles perched here and yon, and an eclectic assortment of just stuff. Plus, I have been shopping for the kids winter wardrobes and all their new-to-them clothes are piled high on a chair in the living room. Folded and sorted into who's is what's piles, but still, there. Looking cluttered and taking up space.

The clothes didn't look so bad before the rest of the stuff. Then there was the fact that I had managed to strip the kids beds with every intention of cleaning the linens. Gracie slept on a pallet on the floor last night and Thomas managed to wrap up in a blanket on his bed. And thats where they are tonight, too. The dishes in the kitchen had been allowed to pile up. 'Cooking for one' while the family was away meant that each day I had used a cup and a knife to spread the peanut butter on the bread. Within 24 hours of having 'all in the house' again, we had filled both sides of the sink to capacity. And no one did the kitchen last night.

The laundry, which was caught up as of Friday, is back in full swing, too. I have two full hampers of clothes that either came home dirty or have been used in the last two days. How is it that we manage to wreck such havoc on the washer and dryer?

So, aside from a meeting at the church today, my plans included, well, cleaning up. I was mortified when I got home from the meeting. My kids had hit melt down point and I had to scram before the others. That wasn't so bad. I knew they all understood. It was walking through the front door of the house that caught me off guard and made me pray for some June Cleaver-ish-ness. (How did she mange that hair do, those dresses and shoes, the boys, clean house, and have cookies and milk ready for Wally and The Beaver EVERYDAY?)

I had neglected to take the nasty overnight diapers out to the trash can. And let me tell you, there was a special smell permeating the atmosphere at our house! I whisked the ooky things away and upon re-entering the house, was greeted with Thomas shrilling about some perceived wrong doing from his sister. Not Sarah Grace, though. Apparently Elizabeth was snubbing him.

Oh, for the love.

It went down hill from there. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down hill. The kids were tired and crabby and hungry (starving really, just ask Thomas). I had forgotten milk, again, so when I offered them water, they both went nuts. Incidentally, they went thirsty for lunch. They whined and complained about not having milk and not wanting water. This brought on Speeches I Gleaned From My Childhood #1768. Something to the effect of being thankful for what you have, lest you have nothing to be thankful for. The water cups went in the fridge to be saved for afternoon snack. They trudged through lunch, whined about having to take a nap, and promptly fell asleep in less than ten minutes.

One would think that after a nearly three hour nap, they would wake up cheerful. Nope. Out came Thing 1 and Thing 2 with a terrible case of the grouchies. They did not, however, grouse about drinking water at snack. They both asked for seconds! The cotton pickers and other assorted tractors that were clearing the back fields managed to keep the children more or less entertained for quite a while, though. I even took Liz in her pack and play out on the porch to watch while I puttered about in the laundry room. I checked on everyone frequently, but still managed to miss the part where Thomas and Sarah Grace dragged the pack and play out into the yard and the rain started to fall. Elizabeth seemed unperturbed, happily gnawing on a teether and airplaning around the pack and play. Good times.

I bustled everyone inside, and the grouchies surfaced again. After attempts at reading and playing pretend, I finally busted out Veggie Tales. They perked right up, sang, laughed, and danced (which they rarely do for a movie).

My house is looking a bit better. While the kids jitter bugged around the living room, I managed to organize a bit and vacuum. After everyone was tucked into bed, Joshua and I got the kitchen under control.

Maybe the UPS guy/gal will come tomorrow...

Friday, October 19, 2007

Missing

It has been such a busy month. I have had handprints commitments for the past two Saturdays, and this week for Thursday through Saturday I have/will be out of the house. Where are my kids during all of this? Currently they are with their Granny. Joshua's mom was brave enough to take them on all by herself! Few people are willing to do this, so it makes it that much more meaningful that she will.

Joshua helped me the first Saturday at the Madison Street Festival while the kids stayed with a couple of girls from our church. We did good business and really enjoyed working together. At the end of the day, we really enjoyed coming home and hanging out with the munchkins.

The following Saturday, Lora and her youngest came and did Just Kids Stuff with me. It was an early morning, but we were glad for the chance to visit with out the aid of seven youngsters ages three and under jostling for out attentions. Again, when I got home that evening, I was sure glad to see my husband and kiddos.

This week, I am set up with Klassy Kids Exchange and because of the hours I am putting in, the children are staying with Granny. On top of that, Joshua left for a seminar that runs Thursday through Sunday, and I have found myself at loose ends in the evenings. I am not real hip on staying home alone, but manage to deal with it from time to time. And it's not that there isn't anything for me to do. To the contrary, my list seems to have increased in the absence of my family.

Yet, here I sit moaning to you all about my quiet house.

I miss my kids. I know I will be refreshed for the break, but oh, how I miss the cuddles and hugs and laughter. The noise of it all. The toys that get scattered about under foot. The messy meal faces. The shoe basket being dumped every time I say get your shoes on, never mind that the shoes they are looking for are still under the kitchen table where they kicked them off. The sweet smell of freshly bathed and lotioned kids. The warm snuggles of bedtime reading. The sincerity of bedtime prayers. The sleepy eyes that trust me with everything that they hold dear.

I miss my husband. I realized this morning as I was driving that I had been awake for nearly three hours and not said a single word. I had not hugged anyone or smiled at anyone. I had not shared our weekly television hour with Joshua the night before, lounging on the couch munching some snack and waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next in the life of Clark Kent. I had not shared garage time with Joshua, him working in his corner and me in mine on totally unrelated projects, but just being together. I had not had dinner table conversation, not helped in the kitchen, not held hands, nothing since stepping foot in the front door.

I did have some pretty flowers and chocolates and a sweet note on my pillow. I knew I was loved and missed.

All these little things that make up the routine of my usual days, I miss them. Odd how excited I was several years ago to be living in an apartment all on my very own with no room mates (save the three cats!) and no one to answer to. I cooked or not cooked for only myself. I did only my laundry. I cleaned only my mess. I kept my own schedule. I watched what I wanted to watch when I wanted to watch it. I came and I went and I played my music loud.

Now, I scarcely know what to do with myself when given a few nights in a row with out the responsibilities of being Mother/Wife/Friend to my kids and husband. I love those rolls. They comprise such a large part of who I am and what I do that I feel somehow lost to not be filling them for what in the long run amounts to a few hours.

The rest is nice, but I am just about ready to have my sweetheart back and my children in my arms. If it means cooking for everyone, fine. Doing a gajillion loads of laundry daily, bring it on. Helping to clean the kids toys out of the floor again, okay. Squeezing errands in around and between nap time and lunch time, great. And if I have to sing The Chicken Song and the Alphabet Song and The Lord's Army over and over and over and over, well, at least my kids are enjoying music!

I look forward to tomorrow when my babies come home. I look forward to taking them out for a social gathering. I look forward to seeing Joshua and the folks he is with. Yes, I enjoy the blessings the Lord gave me in these precious people in my life. I am ready to serve them again and have us all under one roof.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Kid Convo

Yesterday, the kids and I taxied Joshua to and from work. When we went to pick him up around 5:30, the sun was low in the sky and there was just no hiding from it as it poured into the windows of the van. The following conversation took place from the depths of the van...

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thomas: (whining and fussing every word of the way): The sun is shining in my eyes. (screeeeeeeeeeeeech) I don't like it. It hurts my eyes. (waaaaaaaaaaillllllll) Make it stop. (whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine) Sarah, I don't like it. (screeeeeeeeeeeeech)

Sarah Grace: (in a dry, humorless voice with a very bored expression on her face): Just close your eyes, Domas.

Thomas: (apparently after following his sister's advice) Thank you, Sarah Grace! That's much better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wise beyond her years, that girl...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Fall Foto Fun

Or something like that. I am nothing short of awed by these families who manage to get a family portrait done and ALL THE KIDS are looking in the same general direction...or at least you can see their faces!

My friend Heather came over yesterday to take some pictures of our kiddos, and she did a great job. In fact, if you are local, holler at me and I will be more than happy to point you in her direction. Below are some of my favorites...




Sunday, October 07, 2007

How We Got Kids - part 3

Elizabeth Hope Freeman came into this world at 7:59 am on April 6, 2007. She will be six months old tomorrow! It is so hard to believe that she has been her for a whole half a year.



On April 5, I had a doctor's appointment and I was told, everything looks good, see you next week. I knew then that I would be having a baby before 'next week.' I had been contracting pretty regularly for the better part of the week. I asked the nurse what would happen if I went to the hospital that weekend and she smiled and replied, 'Well, we wouldn't send you home, but try to hang on for another week or so.' I wondered if she remembered being that pregnant.

I started calling people before I left the parking lot. I had suspected all along that I was further along in the pregnancy than the medical profession said. Let's face it, I would know certain things about, say, my marital relations than they would. I knew that baby was on it's way. I called Joshua to let him know we were going to the hospital that night. I called my aunt to ask her to help with the older kids. I called the grandparents to let them in on the plan. Then I went home, packed my bag and Joshua's bag, fed the kids dinner, and started walking around our large backyard.

I clipped along for about an hour Then at about six announced I was ready. We had been there about two hours when the nurse said they would probably send me home. Part of me wanted to scream at her that I would only be coming back and part of me wanted to cry. You see, Thomas and Sarah Grace were both induced labors. This was my first 'natural' start. I felt sure I was ready to have that baby, but what if I was wrong and they sent me home?

Sigh.

In case I have never said it before, I love my OB. Dr. Bailey came through and let me know they would be keeping me. Would I like an epidural. Yes! Oh, and yes to the epidural, too, please. They gave me the epidural about 10pm, I think. I slept soundly until 6:40 the next morning when the nursing shift changed over. Elizabeth arrived just over an hour later.

Again, we had chosen not find out what we were having, so we were thrilled over the 'It's a Girl' announcement. We counted toes and fingers, and I was HUNGRY! I hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. Don't worry, I didn't eat the fingers and toes. I called my parents and asked them to pick me up some Cracker Barrel on their way in!

We were released with the same old instructions. Back to the pediatrician within 24 hours for the bili-rubin check. Guess what? Yup, it was to high. Third verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse. Actually, not as bad. We had a home health nurse bring us a photo therapy bed, which Liz was on for about three or four days, and we were done! No extra hospital trip! We thought we had arrived!


We learned a LOT at the hospital before we were released. This was our third child with unusually elevated bili-rubins in her body. Third. Three for three. What could we do to counter act this some? Well, there were two possible answers. It could be our blood types, mine and Joshua's. I forgot the rest of that tale. Just something to do with our blood types. Or it could be that one of us was passing on a genetic liver disease that surfaces as infant jaundice. While this is not the everyday thing in the infant ward, it is not uncommon either. We haven't had any of this checked out and don't plan to. It was just a few nuggets that helped us to understand some things. I mean seriously, most folks I know say that their child was jaundiced slightly, but sunlight did the trick. Not my kids, and we were exposing them to some sunlight, let me tell you. A few say they had to do the at home paddle or bili-beds, but not so many talk about having to return to the hospital with their carrot kid for another three to five days.

Another thing we learned that set my mind at ease some; Redheaded, fair complected women often have problems with milk supply while nursing. This revelation from the SAME nursing consultant I had seen with both the other kids. Oh, now she tells me. After two failures and lots of beating myself up over how my body wasn't doing what it was supposed to do.

Things they should tell a person the FIRST time around. Not that I am bitter. No, actually, armed with this knowledge, I was better able to relax, and Elizabeth was my first successful nurser. Three months with minimal formula supplements! Hooray!


Anyway, back to Baby Liz. She came home, camped out in her little straight jacketed tanning bed, and tolerated the noise and poking from the other kids. Upon being freed from the bili-bed, she napped most of the day despite the activity around her, ate well, and was a precious bundle of lovely girl. One of the things I noticed about her that I loved was how relaxed she was. Her hands rarely ball into fists as babies tend to do. They are almost always relaxed and opened wide, showing off her beautiful long fingers.



She smiled earlier than the other two, slept through the night at about seven weeks, and was moved into the bedroom with Sarah Grace at about three months. Heaven. She is an incredibly joyful baby. She adores her brother and sister and still puts up with a lot of poking from them. She squeals with laughter when they start making animal noises at her, loves to touch their faces, and frequently causes them to yelp when she manages to get her hands curled up into their hair.


She is trying so hard to crawl and sit up unassisted. She loves to gnaw on anything and drools incessantly. She laughs easily. She loves to eat. Bath time is a favorite highlight. She kicks and squirms, and if I let the water out really low, she excitedly spins about on her belly exploring the tub walls and splashing the water about as she coos and squeals. She is not a paci kid like Thomas, nor is she a thumb sucker like Sarah Grace. Nope, she likes to pop her left middle and ring fingers into her mouth and snuggle down for her rest times. She wakes up smiling and cooing and we just have to scoop her up and shower her with kisses.



I love having a baby in the house.

Thursday, October 04, 2007