Monday, July 31, 2006
It's a lot of the same old/same old around here. It's almost August in Texas, so it feels like you're in a hot hair dryer whenever you step outside. The boys are off school for 2 weeks until they start up on the 14th. Rachael starts the following week. I think she will be sooo excited to ride the bus & and see her teacher and her classmates again. I bought school supplies for the kids on Saturday. I think the boys' classes have a theme going - 10 boxes of kleenex, purell, 200 paper plates, baby wipes (are you starting to get it?). It's germ warfare!
Another bit of the same old story. The church hosted an afternoon of childcare for children w/special needs & their siblings this past Saturday. Deren and I were looking forward to it for 2 months. Sure enough, the boys had a head-to-toe rash Saturday morning, and Abby woke up with another stomach bug (which she still has) that morning. Deren still wanted to take them.. so I had to be the 'bad guy' and say "no way!" So we both spent Saturday feeling sorry for ourselves and the sickies. And I ended up school supply shopping instead of spending the afternoon at the movies with my hubby. I did buy Rachael a princess barbie doll. Abby tore the head off of Rachael's lone barbie doll, and Rachael kept asking me & Deren to fix it. Rachael was happy to see the barbie w/a tiara, and it has a matching kid's tiara (see the pictures). Jacob ran around after everyone w/the tiara on Saturday, trying to put it on our heads. Abby, in particular, seems to think the look suits her daddy.
And speaking of Abby Kate, she's now conquered the coffee table and climbing over the back of the couch (better be someone there to catch her!). After lunch today she got sleepy, climbed up on the loveseat, and fell asleep (see picture). After her nap she attacked the trash can for chocolate cake crumbs leftover from her siblings. Then she raided the flushable wipe container in the kids' bathroom - she's developed a fixation on those for some reason..
Another bit of the same old story. The church hosted an afternoon of childcare for children w/special needs & their siblings this past Saturday. Deren and I were looking forward to it for 2 months. Sure enough, the boys had a head-to-toe rash Saturday morning, and Abby woke up with another stomach bug (which she still has) that morning. Deren still wanted to take them.. so I had to be the 'bad guy' and say "no way!" So we both spent Saturday feeling sorry for ourselves and the sickies. And I ended up school supply shopping instead of spending the afternoon at the movies with my hubby. I did buy Rachael a princess barbie doll. Abby tore the head off of Rachael's lone barbie doll, and Rachael kept asking me & Deren to fix it. Rachael was happy to see the barbie w/a tiara, and it has a matching kid's tiara (see the pictures). Jacob ran around after everyone w/the tiara on Saturday, trying to put it on our heads. Abby, in particular, seems to think the look suits her daddy.
And speaking of Abby Kate, she's now conquered the coffee table and climbing over the back of the couch (better be someone there to catch her!). After lunch today she got sleepy, climbed up on the loveseat, and fell asleep (see picture). After her nap she attacked the trash can for chocolate cake crumbs leftover from her siblings. Then she raided the flushable wipe container in the kids' bathroom - she's developed a fixation on those for some reason..
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
So what's new? Let's see.. I'm tired, tired, tired. Wait a minute, that's the same as usual!
Abby has taken to climbing on the furniture - Ain't No Mountain High Enough..
The boys are finishing up there last week of summer school. They will be home 2 (long) weeks, then start school for the fall. The kids are still stir crazy. It's not quite as hot - temps are in the upper 90's w/heat indexes in the 100's, but it's better than last week. Joshua is going to be sooo happy in the fall w/cooler temps and the leaves falling on the ground. Matter of fact, I will be very happy, too!
I took Jacob and Rachael to see the movie Cars again on Saturday. Let's see.. Jacob peed in his pants from drinking too much sprite (my fault), Rachael stayed still about a total of 10 mins. After the wet pants and too many dashes by Rachael up and down the stairs we left early. From what I saw (most of it), it was a pretty good movie.
Abby threw up (again) Saturday night. I went to church on Sunday while Deren stayed with the kids.
My cousin Stephen passed away last Thursday night. I didn't make it to Illinois for the funeral. Deren couldn't get off work, and with Abby sick on Saturday it's a good thing I stayed home. Please keep his mother, Betty, and his children, Savannah, Dawson, and Sierra in your prayers.
We're still waiting for the money from Denton County for Jacob's therapy this summer. The funny thing is we have to pay the therapist regardless of whether we're getting the money or not. We can't just say "maybe the end of next month." grhhh...
I went to my dr's appt last Thursday. When Dr. Bass asked how I was doing I think I cried for about 5 mins. Between the sad news of my cousin and another family's 6 yo dying from brain cancer, the bureaucracy of the local county, and being trapped indoors I'm drained.
..anyway.. that's my whine for the day. There are so many things to be thankful for, but when stress comes my way ya know it's all about me!
One funny/not so funny thing from Sunday. Deren was watching the kids while I was knitting. He was getting pretty cranky. I asked him what the deal was. When he answered he sounded like me at the end of a weekday (only he'd been at it for 3 hrs). "All they do is make messes! I can't even take a minute to eat my lunch!" - uh huh, yeah, sounds familiar..
Abby has taken to climbing on the furniture - Ain't No Mountain High Enough..
The boys are finishing up there last week of summer school. They will be home 2 (long) weeks, then start school for the fall. The kids are still stir crazy. It's not quite as hot - temps are in the upper 90's w/heat indexes in the 100's, but it's better than last week. Joshua is going to be sooo happy in the fall w/cooler temps and the leaves falling on the ground. Matter of fact, I will be very happy, too!
I took Jacob and Rachael to see the movie Cars again on Saturday. Let's see.. Jacob peed in his pants from drinking too much sprite (my fault), Rachael stayed still about a total of 10 mins. After the wet pants and too many dashes by Rachael up and down the stairs we left early. From what I saw (most of it), it was a pretty good movie.
Abby threw up (again) Saturday night. I went to church on Sunday while Deren stayed with the kids.
My cousin Stephen passed away last Thursday night. I didn't make it to Illinois for the funeral. Deren couldn't get off work, and with Abby sick on Saturday it's a good thing I stayed home. Please keep his mother, Betty, and his children, Savannah, Dawson, and Sierra in your prayers.
We're still waiting for the money from Denton County for Jacob's therapy this summer. The funny thing is we have to pay the therapist regardless of whether we're getting the money or not. We can't just say "maybe the end of next month." grhhh...
I went to my dr's appt last Thursday. When Dr. Bass asked how I was doing I think I cried for about 5 mins. Between the sad news of my cousin and another family's 6 yo dying from brain cancer, the bureaucracy of the local county, and being trapped indoors I'm drained.
..anyway.. that's my whine for the day. There are so many things to be thankful for, but when stress comes my way ya know it's all about me!
One funny/not so funny thing from Sunday. Deren was watching the kids while I was knitting. He was getting pretty cranky. I asked him what the deal was. When he answered he sounded like me at the end of a weekday (only he'd been at it for 3 hrs). "All they do is make messes! I can't even take a minute to eat my lunch!" - uh huh, yeah, sounds familiar..
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
I think the paper said it's the 8th day in a row with temps over 100. I feel so bad for the kids. It's too hot to be outside, and combined with the poor air quality in the metroplex, we're pretty much prisoners indoors. So I guess it should be of no surprise that the captives have been very restless. Last night when I got home from grocery shopping Joshua escaped out the garage door, and made a rush at our neighbor across the alley. She was watering her flowers with a nozzle hose. Joshua thought "water play!" He wanted so bad to play. Poor guy.
Abby has been tearing the place apart - figuratively and literally. She flooded both the bathrooms this a.m. She took some cups and quickly dumped as much water as she could onto the floor in their bathroom. Then she went to our bathroom with the garden tub. The faucet is on the outside of the tub, and it is loose, I guess, because it twists around. Miss Abby figured out that she can turn on the water, twist the faucet around, and proceed to flood our bathroom (much quicker than the manual dumping-of-water in the other bathroom). She was so pleased with her handywork. She splashed and squealed on the flooded tile. I was just thinking "Thank goodness your brother Joshua wasn't home to take notes!"
..and speaking of 'taking notes.' Abigail has apparently been taking detailed notes from her siblings on how to throw a tantrum. When she isn't getting her way, watch out! She throws whatever is in reach, then she collapses on the floor and screams like a banshee. You think she's just suffered a great injury from the volume, but no, in this house you have to stand out from the crowd.
So okay, the flooding happened before 10am today. She then took a nap, and woke up at 12, ready to take on the afternoon. She figured out that the kid-sized chairs in the house are convenient stepping stools to about everything else. She loves playing on the computer. So you will often find her in the computer chair pounding on the computer. Deren saw this for the 1st time this morning, and being as safety-minded as he is, he was very disturbed. Of course, he wasn't around this afternoon when Abby pulled the chairs up to the kid table in the boys bedroom, then proceeded to use the kid table as a stepping stone to each of the boys' beds. A can of sprite had been left behind on Joshua's headboard (a full can, mind you). She then dumped the sprite all over Joshua's comforter and sheets, got off the bed, and poured the remainding sprite down the hallway. Joshua, in the meantime, was diving hands-first into red jello. Needless to say, when Deren got home I wasn't feeding the kids dinner, like I'm usually doing. I was mopping floors.
The boys are back in school this week and the next. Then they're off 2 wks. School starts up on August 14th. Rachael starts the following week. As trying as the summer has been, I'm getting nervous about the boys both having new teachers. "change is good, change is good, change is good" - repeat a couple thousand times..
I have a dr's appt on Thursday. I get to drink the orange sugary drink and have my glucose levels tested. Most other ladies I've talked to said the drink is so sweet it makes them nauseous. I remember liking the taste of it, myself. Shows you what a sugar hound I am.
Please keep my cousin Stephen in your prayers. He is in the hospital, and is not expected to make it much longer. My family has been pretty devastated. Sorry. Can't think of more to say. My heart is so heavy for him and those he'll leave behind.
Abby has been tearing the place apart - figuratively and literally. She flooded both the bathrooms this a.m. She took some cups and quickly dumped as much water as she could onto the floor in their bathroom. Then she went to our bathroom with the garden tub. The faucet is on the outside of the tub, and it is loose, I guess, because it twists around. Miss Abby figured out that she can turn on the water, twist the faucet around, and proceed to flood our bathroom (much quicker than the manual dumping-of-water in the other bathroom). She was so pleased with her handywork. She splashed and squealed on the flooded tile. I was just thinking "Thank goodness your brother Joshua wasn't home to take notes!"
..and speaking of 'taking notes.' Abigail has apparently been taking detailed notes from her siblings on how to throw a tantrum. When she isn't getting her way, watch out! She throws whatever is in reach, then she collapses on the floor and screams like a banshee. You think she's just suffered a great injury from the volume, but no, in this house you have to stand out from the crowd.
So okay, the flooding happened before 10am today. She then took a nap, and woke up at 12, ready to take on the afternoon. She figured out that the kid-sized chairs in the house are convenient stepping stools to about everything else. She loves playing on the computer. So you will often find her in the computer chair pounding on the computer. Deren saw this for the 1st time this morning, and being as safety-minded as he is, he was very disturbed. Of course, he wasn't around this afternoon when Abby pulled the chairs up to the kid table in the boys bedroom, then proceeded to use the kid table as a stepping stone to each of the boys' beds. A can of sprite had been left behind on Joshua's headboard (a full can, mind you). She then dumped the sprite all over Joshua's comforter and sheets, got off the bed, and poured the remainding sprite down the hallway. Joshua, in the meantime, was diving hands-first into red jello. Needless to say, when Deren got home I wasn't feeding the kids dinner, like I'm usually doing. I was mopping floors.
The boys are back in school this week and the next. Then they're off 2 wks. School starts up on August 14th. Rachael starts the following week. As trying as the summer has been, I'm getting nervous about the boys both having new teachers. "change is good, change is good, change is good" - repeat a couple thousand times..
I have a dr's appt on Thursday. I get to drink the orange sugary drink and have my glucose levels tested. Most other ladies I've talked to said the drink is so sweet it makes them nauseous. I remember liking the taste of it, myself. Shows you what a sugar hound I am.
Please keep my cousin Stephen in your prayers. He is in the hospital, and is not expected to make it much longer. My family has been pretty devastated. Sorry. Can't think of more to say. My heart is so heavy for him and those he'll leave behind.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
July 4th has come and gone! Another month closer to the fall. I'm 24 1/2 wks along. My next OB appt is next week. The baby has been pretty active. So have the other kiddos. The boys are off summer school for another week, and they are bored, bored.
We celebrated the 4th in our usual way - with sick kids. Joshua came home from school with a rash on the 29th. Sure enough, it was the strep again. He got an antibiotic shot at the doctor and the rash was cleared the next day. By Monday Jacob had a head to toe rash. Deren stayed and worked from home on the 3rd so I could take him to the dr. The p.a. had no idea what it was. We're thinking his food allergies may be acting up. He's not running a fever, it's not turning into blisters or anything. Any ideas (ugh!). We're seeing the immunology doc this month, but it's not until the 27th. I need to call in and see if I can get him squeezed in I guess. My "to do" list for Monday is growing and growing. Early (and I mean 'early' as in 1:30) Friday morning Abby started throwing up. She took out everything in her crib - the bumper pad, the crib skirt, the floor around it. It took a good 1 1/2 hours to clean that mess up. Deren worked from home again to help with Abby and watch her & Joshua while I took the other two to the eye doctor.
Due to the holiday, boys being home, various body rashes and whatnot we didn't go to the library last week. Rachael asked *at least* a couple times a day to do to the library for stories and songs. My neighbor's 21 yr old daughter is helping with the kids 2x/week this summer. Mallory is going to watch the boys (she says she's up to it!) Tuesday morning while I take the girls to the library - rashes and stomach ailments permitting. Mallory has been doing a great job with the kids. And they've put her through the motions, let me tell you. She's been walloped by all of them and doesn't blink except to send them to time out.
And speaking of walloping.. Let me tell you about our Miss Mae at the eye doctor. I took Jacob and Rachael to the specialist on Friday. Jacob made quite a scene when it was time to leave the video playing in the waiting room for the exam room. Threw himself on the floor several times, screamed.. was better viewing than the video playing at the time. Rachael, however, apparently did not want to be outdone. She didn't want to sit in the exam chair. When I put her in it against her will she flew out of it, right at the nurse, walloping the unsuspecting lady. Then she ran away, throwing anything she could get her hands on. She was totally out of control, and the nurse was probably thinking 'I can't believe you're having another!' I put Rachael in a chair, took away the book she had, told her to be quiet every time she tried to chatter, and had her sit there until the doctor came. As soon as Dr. Wang came in the room Rachael yelled "I'm SO sorry! That little chickie has a temper to rival her momma and it's driving me crazy!! In the end, Rachael did just fine for the exam, and the dr is pleased with her eyes w/glasses. Jacob, however, is crossing more and more, and the dr wants to do surgery asap. It will be on both eyes, like Rachael. Ohhhhh, I'm not looking forward to it. There's basically no way to explain to him what's going to happen. He will wake up from surgery with both eyes bleeding and in pain. Rachael was completely hysterical when she woke up. Jacob has 20 lbs and a lot more disability than her, so it's pretty much going to be awful for the guy. My poor baby boy (yes, he's still my baby). Please pray for Jacob.
Abby is all over the place, and doing new things every day, it seems. She is signing more. She signs for "french fries" (blushing with embarrassment), "fruit" (that's better, isn't it?). She will put her clothes - well, anyone's clothes, in the hamper when you tell her. She is such a ray of sunshine - especially in the morning, when everyone else is kinda groggy. Her talking is coming along slowly, but she's doing things that we never even saw Rachael do - it's very exciting. We have a lot of bunnies in the neighborhood. Whenever she sees one she gets so excited. She'll wave and chatter and say "bye bye bubu" when she chases them away. Joshua could stomp on a bunny and still not notice it - he's very selective as to what/who he will pay attention to. He will maul adults who come to the house - he knows they're tall enough to turn on the movie player and get him popsicles. He rarely pays attention to Abby still. Although they did have a big bathtub party on Thursday. They both dove into mud in the backyard. I put the mudballs in the bath and the party was on. They flooded the bathroom a couple times over. Deren and I now joke that we produce kids with 1 of 2 personalities: 1) shy; on the uptight and easy-to-tantrum side; timid; very sweet when they want to be; cuddlers 2) not a shy, timid, or uptight bone in their body; big tantrums when they thwarted from whatever mischief is in the making; funny; light up the room (Note: both personality types are very lovable - esp to mommy and daddy, but each w/challenges). Is the new baby going to break the mold? We'll see..
We celebrated the 4th in our usual way - with sick kids. Joshua came home from school with a rash on the 29th. Sure enough, it was the strep again. He got an antibiotic shot at the doctor and the rash was cleared the next day. By Monday Jacob had a head to toe rash. Deren stayed and worked from home on the 3rd so I could take him to the dr. The p.a. had no idea what it was. We're thinking his food allergies may be acting up. He's not running a fever, it's not turning into blisters or anything. Any ideas (ugh!). We're seeing the immunology doc this month, but it's not until the 27th. I need to call in and see if I can get him squeezed in I guess. My "to do" list for Monday is growing and growing. Early (and I mean 'early' as in 1:30) Friday morning Abby started throwing up. She took out everything in her crib - the bumper pad, the crib skirt, the floor around it. It took a good 1 1/2 hours to clean that mess up. Deren worked from home again to help with Abby and watch her & Joshua while I took the other two to the eye doctor.
Due to the holiday, boys being home, various body rashes and whatnot we didn't go to the library last week. Rachael asked *at least* a couple times a day to do to the library for stories and songs. My neighbor's 21 yr old daughter is helping with the kids 2x/week this summer. Mallory is going to watch the boys (she says she's up to it!) Tuesday morning while I take the girls to the library - rashes and stomach ailments permitting. Mallory has been doing a great job with the kids. And they've put her through the motions, let me tell you. She's been walloped by all of them and doesn't blink except to send them to time out.
And speaking of walloping.. Let me tell you about our Miss Mae at the eye doctor. I took Jacob and Rachael to the specialist on Friday. Jacob made quite a scene when it was time to leave the video playing in the waiting room for the exam room. Threw himself on the floor several times, screamed.. was better viewing than the video playing at the time. Rachael, however, apparently did not want to be outdone. She didn't want to sit in the exam chair. When I put her in it against her will she flew out of it, right at the nurse, walloping the unsuspecting lady. Then she ran away, throwing anything she could get her hands on. She was totally out of control, and the nurse was probably thinking 'I can't believe you're having another!' I put Rachael in a chair, took away the book she had, told her to be quiet every time she tried to chatter, and had her sit there until the doctor came. As soon as Dr. Wang came in the room Rachael yelled "I'm SO sorry! That little chickie has a temper to rival her momma and it's driving me crazy!! In the end, Rachael did just fine for the exam, and the dr is pleased with her eyes w/glasses. Jacob, however, is crossing more and more, and the dr wants to do surgery asap. It will be on both eyes, like Rachael. Ohhhhh, I'm not looking forward to it. There's basically no way to explain to him what's going to happen. He will wake up from surgery with both eyes bleeding and in pain. Rachael was completely hysterical when she woke up. Jacob has 20 lbs and a lot more disability than her, so it's pretty much going to be awful for the guy. My poor baby boy (yes, he's still my baby). Please pray for Jacob.
Abby is all over the place, and doing new things every day, it seems. She is signing more. She signs for "french fries" (blushing with embarrassment), "fruit" (that's better, isn't it?). She will put her clothes - well, anyone's clothes, in the hamper when you tell her. She is such a ray of sunshine - especially in the morning, when everyone else is kinda groggy. Her talking is coming along slowly, but she's doing things that we never even saw Rachael do - it's very exciting. We have a lot of bunnies in the neighborhood. Whenever she sees one she gets so excited. She'll wave and chatter and say "bye bye bubu" when she chases them away. Joshua could stomp on a bunny and still not notice it - he's very selective as to what/who he will pay attention to. He will maul adults who come to the house - he knows they're tall enough to turn on the movie player and get him popsicles. He rarely pays attention to Abby still. Although they did have a big bathtub party on Thursday. They both dove into mud in the backyard. I put the mudballs in the bath and the party was on. They flooded the bathroom a couple times over. Deren and I now joke that we produce kids with 1 of 2 personalities: 1) shy; on the uptight and easy-to-tantrum side; timid; very sweet when they want to be; cuddlers 2) not a shy, timid, or uptight bone in their body; big tantrums when they thwarted from whatever mischief is in the making; funny; light up the room (Note: both personality types are very lovable - esp to mommy and daddy, but each w/challenges). Is the new baby going to break the mold? We'll see..
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