Today was a pretty relaxing day. We had a couple of hours of speech this afternoon (Julia and Danielle; Emily is out of speech until 2014 to let her mouth heal) and then a Christmas party this evening. It was great to see some old friends that we only see once or twice a year and the kids had a blast eating everything in sight (it's a buffet) and doing crafts--mostly Christmas ornaments. Mark and I no longer get to hang ornaments on our Christmas tree; there's no room for any of ours with all of the kids' ornaments! Someday when they move out and take all of their ornaments I'll pull out all of ours again. Which reminds me...
The kids talk about what they want to do when they grow up all of the time. So far Tim is going to live in London for three years, then buy a boat and let me live on it, and I'll never have to cook or clean. Sign me up! Julia is going to live with me and cook for me. (I really don't think I complain about cooking, but they seem to think I need a break!) Danielle is going to live with me and clean (by the way, these are all their own ideas). Alex is going to live in Arizona, Australia, several parts of Africa, and across the street from me. Tim's latest idea after watching The Hunchback of Notre Dame and talking about the church made me laugh: "Mama, when I grow up I'm going to go to Paris and take pictures of the outside of the church, and then the inside of the church, and that big window, and then I'll send them to you."
Wouldn't it be easier if I just went with him?
Showing posts with label Tim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim. Show all posts
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
SLCH
It's a good thing we love Children's Hospital so much, and that it is so close! We are spending three days there this week, although very thankfully all as outpatient.
Tuesday was one hour of speech for Emily. Normal time, normal activities for the rest of us (playing in the rooftop garden).
Today was a tooth extraction for Tim. He had full sedation and was intubated (which was a surprise for Mark and I) and had three teeth removed. He had an extra adult tooth on the top row that was preventing a few of his adult teeth from being able to drop down. This also meant he had not lost some of his baby teeth since the roots were not being dissolved by the incoming teeth. No worries; he lost two baby teeth and an (extra) adult tooth today! He did great and is the first of our kids to undergo anesthesia without throwing up afterwards (he's the third kid to undergo full anesthesia, and another has had nitrous). We had prepped him pretty well. He felt miserable when he first got home. He took off his coat and shoes and went straight upstairs to bed. I think he thought that's what he was supposed to do as I had told him that when he got home he wouldn't feel good and would want a nap. ;) After he woke up he ate a bit, watched a movie (a very special treat in the middle of the week around here!) and then started playing. By bedtime he was pretty normal, but a little more subdued than usual. I made sure he knew to wake me up if he woke up in pain. Sometimes our kids just don't think to come tell us if they have problems at night since they spent so long without anyone to help them. :(
Tomorrow is speech for Emily in the morning (school for all the rest in the cafeteria!) and then a physical therapy evaluation for Danielle in the afternoon. I was hoping we could get those scheduled concurrently but I'll take a separate eval time if we can try to get regular therapy times coordinated! We had put off having Danielle do PT for quite a while, giving her time to strengthen her muscles and simply be upright for more than a few hours a day. But now I am concerned about her posture and think she probably needs to do some more stretching and strengthening to prevent back problems in the future. Our pediatrician agreed so we'll see what the PT thinks after the eval tomorrow.
Thankfully the kids are very used to our crazy schedule and are learning to do school pretty much anywhere. That's particularly good as both Julia and Danielle will be starting speech therapy next month. I think we're going to need our own schoolroom at Children's!
Tuesday was one hour of speech for Emily. Normal time, normal activities for the rest of us (playing in the rooftop garden).
Today was a tooth extraction for Tim. He had full sedation and was intubated (which was a surprise for Mark and I) and had three teeth removed. He had an extra adult tooth on the top row that was preventing a few of his adult teeth from being able to drop down. This also meant he had not lost some of his baby teeth since the roots were not being dissolved by the incoming teeth. No worries; he lost two baby teeth and an (extra) adult tooth today! He did great and is the first of our kids to undergo anesthesia without throwing up afterwards (he's the third kid to undergo full anesthesia, and another has had nitrous). We had prepped him pretty well. He felt miserable when he first got home. He took off his coat and shoes and went straight upstairs to bed. I think he thought that's what he was supposed to do as I had told him that when he got home he wouldn't feel good and would want a nap. ;) After he woke up he ate a bit, watched a movie (a very special treat in the middle of the week around here!) and then started playing. By bedtime he was pretty normal, but a little more subdued than usual. I made sure he knew to wake me up if he woke up in pain. Sometimes our kids just don't think to come tell us if they have problems at night since they spent so long without anyone to help them. :(
Tomorrow is speech for Emily in the morning (school for all the rest in the cafeteria!) and then a physical therapy evaluation for Danielle in the afternoon. I was hoping we could get those scheduled concurrently but I'll take a separate eval time if we can try to get regular therapy times coordinated! We had put off having Danielle do PT for quite a while, giving her time to strengthen her muscles and simply be upright for more than a few hours a day. But now I am concerned about her posture and think she probably needs to do some more stretching and strengthening to prevent back problems in the future. Our pediatrician agreed so we'll see what the PT thinks after the eval tomorrow.
Thankfully the kids are very used to our crazy schedule and are learning to do school pretty much anywhere. That's particularly good as both Julia and Danielle will be starting speech therapy next month. I think we're going to need our own schoolroom at Children's!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tim is getting married
The three oldest kids have Bible verses for their handwriting every day. Right now we are going through the Christmas story in Luke. I had the following conversation with Tim.
Tim: "What does 'pledged' mean?"
Me: "Engaged. That they are going to be married but they aren't married yet."
Tim: "When were they going to be married?"
Me: "I don't know."
Tim: "Can people get married in Bethlehem?"
Me: "Yes, people can get married in Bethlehem."
Tim: "I can't get married in Bethlehem, can I?"
Me: "Yes, if you want to get married in Bethlehem I think you could get married there."
Tim: "Maybe I'll get married in Bethlehem. But I'll have to ask my wife."
*pause*
Tim: "I think I'll let her decide."
Me: "That's probably a good plan." (at this point I was trying really hard to contain my laughter)
Tim: "But we can't get married yet. We'll get married when we're older."
He was very serious about all of this. It's a good thing he hasn't found anyone to be his wife yet!
Tim: "What does 'pledged' mean?"
Me: "Engaged. That they are going to be married but they aren't married yet."
Tim: "When were they going to be married?"
Me: "I don't know."
Tim: "Can people get married in Bethlehem?"
Me: "Yes, people can get married in Bethlehem."
Tim: "I can't get married in Bethlehem, can I?"
Me: "Yes, if you want to get married in Bethlehem I think you could get married there."
Tim: "Maybe I'll get married in Bethlehem. But I'll have to ask my wife."
*pause*
Tim: "I think I'll let her decide."
Me: "That's probably a good plan." (at this point I was trying really hard to contain my laughter)
Tim: "But we can't get married yet. We'll get married when we're older."
He was very serious about all of this. It's a good thing he hasn't found anyone to be his wife yet!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
A busy week
We've had a few of those. :)
Monday was pretty quiet. School and all of that.
Tuesday was speech for Emily, then R came to visit for a few hours. The kids love playing with her and she's 2 now and so much fun to have around. Tim has just recently gotten into the "big brother" groove with her and it's hilarious to listen to him. "No, no, R...don't touch that. Here, play with this."
Wednesday was new ear tubes for Emily. She did great with the surgery but decided she didn't like her doctor AT ALL when she threw up 9 times after anesthesia. Yes, 9. Thankfully they sent us home with a small bucket and I only had to stop three times on the way home to dump it. Ick. ;) She tried to eat when she got home (she was so hungry!) but it didn't work out so well. After a little rest time she was fully recovered and, in true Emily style, decided she had to eat eggs first since she had missed them at breakfast. I did NOT give her eggs first but after I was convinced her stomach had settled she did get her eggs.
Today was shots for Julia and Bianca. Neither one cried and the nurse was so impressed with how the other kids did in the room (I had all 6 of them with me) that she gave all of the kids a pencil.
You could have heard a pin drop in the awed silence when she said they would all get one. Pencils are like gold in our house!
The dirty house is almost done. We have it scheduled to be listed on November 1. We'll see if we can hold to it, but I think we can make it. NOTE: That last "we" should really read "Mark", who is going to nearly kill himself trying to get this house finished alone.
Oh, and did I mention (no, I did not) that he has a new job? Mark is now a therapy manager. YAY for my awesome hubby!!! :)
It's been a little crazy busy around here.
Just the way I like it. :) :)
Monday was pretty quiet. School and all of that.
Tuesday was speech for Emily, then R came to visit for a few hours. The kids love playing with her and she's 2 now and so much fun to have around. Tim has just recently gotten into the "big brother" groove with her and it's hilarious to listen to him. "No, no, R...don't touch that. Here, play with this."
Wednesday was new ear tubes for Emily. She did great with the surgery but decided she didn't like her doctor AT ALL when she threw up 9 times after anesthesia. Yes, 9. Thankfully they sent us home with a small bucket and I only had to stop three times on the way home to dump it. Ick. ;) She tried to eat when she got home (she was so hungry!) but it didn't work out so well. After a little rest time she was fully recovered and, in true Emily style, decided she had to eat eggs first since she had missed them at breakfast. I did NOT give her eggs first but after I was convinced her stomach had settled she did get her eggs.
Today was shots for Julia and Bianca. Neither one cried and the nurse was so impressed with how the other kids did in the room (I had all 6 of them with me) that she gave all of the kids a pencil.
You could have heard a pin drop in the awed silence when she said they would all get one. Pencils are like gold in our house!
The dirty house is almost done. We have it scheduled to be listed on November 1. We'll see if we can hold to it, but I think we can make it. NOTE: That last "we" should really read "Mark", who is going to nearly kill himself trying to get this house finished alone.
Oh, and did I mention (no, I did not) that he has a new job? Mark is now a therapy manager. YAY for my awesome hubby!!! :)
It's been a little crazy busy around here.
Just the way I like it. :) :)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
On strength
For Tim's birthday, Grandma and Grandpa O. got him a t-shirt and short set with a dinosaur on it. Tim loves them, and even more since Papa told him that that kind of shirt (without sleeves) is called a "muscle shirt".
Yesterday was Tim's day to help so he got to pick what we had for afternoon snack and then help me make it. He picked some butterscotch brownies from a cookie cookbook that we have. As I added the flour and the dough became more difficult to stir, he turned to me very seriously and said,
"You have to be strong to stir these cookies. It's a good thing I have my muscle shirt on since it makes me stronger."
Yesterday was Tim's day to help so he got to pick what we had for afternoon snack and then help me make it. He picked some butterscotch brownies from a cookie cookbook that we have. As I added the flour and the dough became more difficult to stir, he turned to me very seriously and said,
"You have to be strong to stir these cookies. It's a good thing I have my muscle shirt on since it makes me stronger."
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The joy of siblings
I get asked a lot how the kids are getting along...
Whenever there is a disagreement as to what happened between two people, they have to sit together until they can come to a coherent story that is agreeable to both parties.
"Mama! Julia hit me!"
"No I not!"
"Yes, she hit me right here really hard!"
"No I not!"
"She hit me! See the red mark on my arm?" (for the record, I could not)
"Tim...Tim..." (Julia looking at her hand trying to find something Tim had done to her)
...pause...
"I hit her first but she hit me HARDER!"
Their punishment was to sit together on the freezer while I made dinner. ;)
Whenever there is a disagreement as to what happened between two people, they have to sit together until they can come to a coherent story that is agreeable to both parties.
"Mama! Julia hit me!"
"No I not!"
"Yes, she hit me right here really hard!"
"No I not!"
"She hit me! See the red mark on my arm?" (for the record, I could not)
"Tim...Tim..." (Julia looking at her hand trying to find something Tim had done to her)
...pause...
"I hit her first but she hit me HARDER!"
Their punishment was to sit together on the freezer while I made dinner. ;)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Some explanations
I think there might be a little confusion out there about the current state of our family, plus there may be a few of you who are just joining in from this last adoption so I thought a detailed explanation of "us" might be in order.
Mark--sole breadwinner and highly esteemed physical therapist, house rehabber (rebuilder!), and worm digger
Courtney--highly educated (not the same thing as qualified, FYI) stay-at-home mom as of this past Monday, former maker of medicines, now dispenser of more band-aids than can be counted
Alex--8 years old and going on 40, loves history, has issues with anxiety especially with schedule changes
Tim--7 years old, loves to tell jokes and do "magic" tricks, keeps me laughing when he's not driving me crazy with his antics
Danielle--7 years old, thinks she's a princess, prefers not to do any work (princesses don't have to do work, do they?) and is definitely going to want the largest share of the mirror as she gets older
Bianca--6 years old, new to the family in March 2011, loves language and almost knows the alphabet song (there are lots of C's in her version)
Emily--5 years old, thinks she's cute (and will tell you!), never ever EVER stops talking
Julia--5 years old, new to the family in March 2011, has an infectious giggle and a monster pout
Those of you who've seen us out and about during the week have probably also seen another little girl with us. That's R. She's 18 months old and the daughter of one of Mark's co-workers. We babysit her during the day. We did not adopt another child right after Bianca and Julia. :)
As you can imagine, things at our house are a little chaotic. Right now during the day it's usually just Bianca, Julia and R, but on days like today and tomorrow when the other kids are out of school I have all 7 at home. I've found divide-and-conquer to be an effective strategy. As in, send two to play in one room, two upstairs, etc. ;)
In the stay-at-home realm, I am still LOVING IT. I am so much more relaxed than when I was working (that should say something since I have 7 kids at home!). I love that I can do all of our meal preps during the day. I am slowly tackling various projects around the house to try to better organize and streamline our lives.
Mark--sole breadwinner and highly esteemed physical therapist, house rehabber (rebuilder!), and worm digger
Courtney--highly educated (not the same thing as qualified, FYI) stay-at-home mom as of this past Monday, former maker of medicines, now dispenser of more band-aids than can be counted
Alex--8 years old and going on 40, loves history, has issues with anxiety especially with schedule changes
Tim--7 years old, loves to tell jokes and do "magic" tricks, keeps me laughing when he's not driving me crazy with his antics
Danielle--7 years old, thinks she's a princess, prefers not to do any work (princesses don't have to do work, do they?) and is definitely going to want the largest share of the mirror as she gets older
Bianca--6 years old, new to the family in March 2011, loves language and almost knows the alphabet song (there are lots of C's in her version)
Emily--5 years old, thinks she's cute (and will tell you!), never ever EVER stops talking
Julia--5 years old, new to the family in March 2011, has an infectious giggle and a monster pout
Those of you who've seen us out and about during the week have probably also seen another little girl with us. That's R. She's 18 months old and the daughter of one of Mark's co-workers. We babysit her during the day. We did not adopt another child right after Bianca and Julia. :)
As you can imagine, things at our house are a little chaotic. Right now during the day it's usually just Bianca, Julia and R, but on days like today and tomorrow when the other kids are out of school I have all 7 at home. I've found divide-and-conquer to be an effective strategy. As in, send two to play in one room, two upstairs, etc. ;)
In the stay-at-home realm, I am still LOVING IT. I am so much more relaxed than when I was working (that should say something since I have 7 kids at home!). I love that I can do all of our meal preps during the day. I am slowly tackling various projects around the house to try to better organize and streamline our lives.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Would you like to try one?
This morning before church, Tim set up the tea set on the coffee table and enlisted Danielle. He then told me they were sample people at Sams and he was passing out "good" coffee.
All of the kids argue over who gets me to drive their cart as I'm the one who stops for the samples! :)
All of the kids argue over who gets me to drive their cart as I'm the one who stops for the samples! :)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tim
Tim is still our little engineer. He LOVES to build anything and everything. He can spend hours out on the back deck building with wood and crates...making garages, houses, zoos, or whatever else he decides on that day. He struggles with the "sitting" part of school but is doing well. The start of school was really hard--I think going from kindergarten to first grade was a bit of a jolt ("You mean I actually have to do work??") but he's figuring out that if he does his work quickly and correctly the first time that he has more time to play and he's all about that.
Tim loves to be silly and play around, but he also loves to help, especially in the kitchen. One of his favorite activities in the afternoon is to build forts/houses out of blankets in the living room. They have multiple rooms and he directs what goes on in each room. Tim does get really frustrated when others don't follow his directions. We're working with him on using words to explain what he wants people to do instead of just saying "NO! Not like that!" over and over again. :) :)
Tim has lots of friends at school and is just all-around an easy-going, likable kid. He's definitely all-boy, and ALL FOUR of the kids' teachers remarked about his love of playing in the dirt in the school playground. Apparently he comes in every morning with dirt streaks on his face. I promise we send him to school clean. :)
Tim loves to be silly and play around, but he also loves to help, especially in the kitchen. One of his favorite activities in the afternoon is to build forts/houses out of blankets in the living room. They have multiple rooms and he directs what goes on in each room. Tim does get really frustrated when others don't follow his directions. We're working with him on using words to explain what he wants people to do instead of just saying "NO! Not like that!" over and over again. :) :)
Tim has lots of friends at school and is just all-around an easy-going, likable kid. He's definitely all-boy, and ALL FOUR of the kids' teachers remarked about his love of playing in the dirt in the school playground. Apparently he comes in every morning with dirt streaks on his face. I promise we send him to school clean. :)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Caught in the act
Tim still hasn't quite figured out how to lie and get away with it...
"Tim, did you close the door?"
"No, Emily did it first!"
"So Emily closed the door and then you closed the door?"
"Ummm...well...Emily did it first!"
--------------------
"Tim!"
...
"TIM!"
...
"TIM!!!"
"Yes?"
"Did you not hear me call you?"
"I didn't hear you till the third time."
"Tim, did you close the door?"
"No, Emily did it first!"
"So Emily closed the door and then you closed the door?"
"Ummm...well...Emily did it first!"
--------------------
"Tim!"
...
"TIM!"
...
"TIM!!!"
"Yes?"
"Did you not hear me call you?"
"I didn't hear you till the third time."
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Loving school
My kids are keeping me rolling with their school antics. I have a really hard time trying to be a stern disciplinarian when I really want to laugh.
Emily did a much better job yesterday listening and obeying at school. The only thing she got in trouble for was putting her ziploc bag (gallon size) over her head, and then laughing about it when she was told to stop because it could hurt her. She is a total ham. If I had to guess, she was trying to wear it as a hat but her head is so small it fell down over her face. ;)
Danielle had a small episode of lying yesterday. That's been a prevalent problem for her over very little things and we definitely want to nip that in the bud. Other than that she seems to be an angel at school and enjoyed learning about "cabibull I" yesterday.
Tim's favorite subject is still P.E., and I think it will be for his whole academic life. He was excited that they got to use their little chalkboards yesterday and work on vowels. What are vowels, Tim? "E...A...O..." And from the background pipes up Alex, "A E I O U." Really?? Where did that come from? He didn't know that at the end of last year!
I mentioned that Alex had been trying to control his teacher but didn't give any specifics. Apparently every day since school started he has asked to go to the bathroom numerous times. On Monday which his teacher mentioned this to me, I said there wasn't any reason for him to go outside of scheduled times, and when it happened again on Tuesday I told Alex (in front of his teacher) that he was only going to be allowed to go to the bathroom with his class--no other times. Yesterday afternoon he asked to go and when she wouldn't let him he pestered her for a while and then, miraculously, he made it to the end of school just fine without going to the bathroom (there is a change of clothes in his backpack just in case). So I'm guessing this new behavior should settle down pretty quickly once he's really not allowed to go.
Before anyone has concerns about underlying medical problems that might cause Alex to actually need to go, let me just say this is not the first time we have experienced this. He goes to the bathroom with the class but tries to be the first one done and doesn't actually pee (or not very much) and then needs to go again 10 minutes later. This has happened with us at home and out and about as well, so we know what's going on here and don't suspect any physical cause for his behavior. :)
Emily did a much better job yesterday listening and obeying at school. The only thing she got in trouble for was putting her ziploc bag (gallon size) over her head, and then laughing about it when she was told to stop because it could hurt her. She is a total ham. If I had to guess, she was trying to wear it as a hat but her head is so small it fell down over her face. ;)
Danielle had a small episode of lying yesterday. That's been a prevalent problem for her over very little things and we definitely want to nip that in the bud. Other than that she seems to be an angel at school and enjoyed learning about "cabibull I" yesterday.
Tim's favorite subject is still P.E., and I think it will be for his whole academic life. He was excited that they got to use their little chalkboards yesterday and work on vowels. What are vowels, Tim? "E...A...O..." And from the background pipes up Alex, "A E I O U." Really?? Where did that come from? He didn't know that at the end of last year!
I mentioned that Alex had been trying to control his teacher but didn't give any specifics. Apparently every day since school started he has asked to go to the bathroom numerous times. On Monday which his teacher mentioned this to me, I said there wasn't any reason for him to go outside of scheduled times, and when it happened again on Tuesday I told Alex (in front of his teacher) that he was only going to be allowed to go to the bathroom with his class--no other times. Yesterday afternoon he asked to go and when she wouldn't let him he pestered her for a while and then, miraculously, he made it to the end of school just fine without going to the bathroom (there is a change of clothes in his backpack just in case). So I'm guessing this new behavior should settle down pretty quickly once he's really not allowed to go.
Before anyone has concerns about underlying medical problems that might cause Alex to actually need to go, let me just say this is not the first time we have experienced this. He goes to the bathroom with the class but tries to be the first one done and doesn't actually pee (or not very much) and then needs to go again 10 minutes later. This has happened with us at home and out and about as well, so we know what's going on here and don't suspect any physical cause for his behavior. :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First days
School has started, albeit sporadically. :)
The boys started in 2nd and 1st grade and had full days of school last Thursday and Friday. The girls (both in kindergarten) had orientation on Thursday and a half day on Friday, so I really consider Monday their first day of school.
So far, we're not seeing anything unexpected. And yeah, that last sentence just made me laugh out loud. :)
Alex is working on control (of his teacher, not himself) and we've given her some thoughts on dealing with that. Nothing major, but stuff he knows better about and just has to test at the beginning of school. Monday he came home with his memory Bible verse for the week and he's already recited it to me (from memory) two days in a row. Tim is a little freaked out about 1st grade as he's realizing he was pretty much allowed to coast through kindergarten and now he's actually going to have to work. I really like his teacher and she'll be great for him. Danielle's behavior has actually been way better than I expected (or her teacher is holding out on us). She's loving being in kindergarten. Emily is pushing every button she can trying to figure out this kindergarten thing. She's being pretty defiant and if it keeps up we'll have no choice but to put her back into preschool. Thankfully she's not acting out at all, just not doing what she's asked to do. As in her teacher says tells her table to stand up and she sits there and looks at her while everyone else gets up. :) Her teacher has 16 kids and I'm not going to prevent them from having a good kindergarten year just because our daughter is causing problems. We'll see if she can manage to settle down. She really wants to be in the big school, not the preschool, so we're using that as leverage.
Danielle's first few days of ankle therapy have gone well. She goes on Monday mornings before school and then Tuesday and Friday after school. Coupled with Emily's speech on Thursdays after school and we've managed to pack a lot into the week. Thankfully, Danielle's therapy is in a place that is quiet with no one else around so the boys can get their homework done there (and Emily if she has any). The ankle therapy is only about 45 minutes so we can still be home by 5 and have dinner by 5:30 (if I've planned ahead ;)).
So far so good. By the end of this week I think we'll be pretty well settled into the new routine. One day at a time!
The boys started in 2nd and 1st grade and had full days of school last Thursday and Friday. The girls (both in kindergarten) had orientation on Thursday and a half day on Friday, so I really consider Monday their first day of school.
So far, we're not seeing anything unexpected. And yeah, that last sentence just made me laugh out loud. :)
Alex is working on control (of his teacher, not himself) and we've given her some thoughts on dealing with that. Nothing major, but stuff he knows better about and just has to test at the beginning of school. Monday he came home with his memory Bible verse for the week and he's already recited it to me (from memory) two days in a row. Tim is a little freaked out about 1st grade as he's realizing he was pretty much allowed to coast through kindergarten and now he's actually going to have to work. I really like his teacher and she'll be great for him. Danielle's behavior has actually been way better than I expected (or her teacher is holding out on us). She's loving being in kindergarten. Emily is pushing every button she can trying to figure out this kindergarten thing. She's being pretty defiant and if it keeps up we'll have no choice but to put her back into preschool. Thankfully she's not acting out at all, just not doing what she's asked to do. As in her teacher says tells her table to stand up and she sits there and looks at her while everyone else gets up. :) Her teacher has 16 kids and I'm not going to prevent them from having a good kindergarten year just because our daughter is causing problems. We'll see if she can manage to settle down. She really wants to be in the big school, not the preschool, so we're using that as leverage.
Danielle's first few days of ankle therapy have gone well. She goes on Monday mornings before school and then Tuesday and Friday after school. Coupled with Emily's speech on Thursdays after school and we've managed to pack a lot into the week. Thankfully, Danielle's therapy is in a place that is quiet with no one else around so the boys can get their homework done there (and Emily if she has any). The ankle therapy is only about 45 minutes so we can still be home by 5 and have dinner by 5:30 (if I've planned ahead ;)).
So far so good. By the end of this week I think we'll be pretty well settled into the new routine. One day at a time!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The dentist
Yesterday all four kids went to the dentist which they love. They did a great job obeying me and then also did well for the dentist. Lots of clean teeth, no plaque on any teeth(!), and healthy gums, so that was definitely good news!
Alex got to share that he had lost another tooth (last week) which is his fifth tooth to lose. Tim is still patiently waiting for any of his teeth to fall out. :) Tim's teeth still show some of the black iron staining when they grow out. You can see it right at the base of his teeth (close to the gum) although it's much less noticeable than it used to be. Supposedly his permanent teeth won't have it at all which would be really nice for his sake as he gets older.
Alex got to share that he had lost another tooth (last week) which is his fifth tooth to lose. Tim is still patiently waiting for any of his teeth to fall out. :) Tim's teeth still show some of the black iron staining when they grow out. You can see it right at the base of his teeth (close to the gum) although it's much less noticeable than it used to be. Supposedly his permanent teeth won't have it at all which would be really nice for his sake as he gets older.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Umm, it's August??
Yes, August is getting away from me. School registration, school supply shopping, frantically trying to figure out what we were doing with the boys for the week and a half before school started (but after summer camp ended)...August is rather taking my breath away. And it's not half over yet. ;)
So what have we been up to?
The boys are in extended summer camp. A few other parents and myself were able to convince them that they needed to offer something during the week and a half before school started, since most of us don't have enough vacation to cover that time plus all of the school holidays. They're basically doing the same things they were before, except no cooking in hot oil and no bus field trips. ;) The boys have picked up the words "dude" and "duh" at summer camp. So I get sentences like this:
"Dude, I have piece of paper?" and "Wow, that's a cool red truck duh."
Can I just say that it's hilarious to hear slang coming out of Alex's mouth mixed in with the speech apraxia, and I find it hysterical that Tim uses the word "duh" (if you can call that a word) but has no idea it's supposed to be sarcastic so he just tacks it on at the end of sentences.
Emily and Danielle are both super-excited for school to start. It's a daily conversation regarding going "upstairs", since the school and their classrooms are on the floor above their preschool classes. Danielle knows most of her letters and numbers to 10 now, although we're still working on it nearly every day after school. Emily's birthday is coming up soon--she'll be 5!--and we're getting her...
...wait for it...
...a vacuum!
Yes, a real working vacuum. She is going to be over-the-moon with her own working vacuum, and I'm thinking my house may be cleaner than I'll know what to do with. ;) It's a small stick vacuum with a telescoping handle, but if it doesn't telescope enough we can remove the handle and she can use it as a hand vacuum. I know it sounds like a bit of a sexist present, but all of my kids love to clean and I anticipate some fighting over Emily's present. A few days ago Alex asked me if, after he came home from summer camp the next afternoon, he could "sweep up the dog hair, and then get the bucket and cloth, and clean the bathroom floor?" And Tim was so excited about it that he wanted to help too. To which I replied that maybe they could each do a bathroom so they could each have one to themselves, and they thought that was a great idea.
No, I am NOT joking. My kids love to clean and I'm going to let them think it's a fun way to play for as long as I can get away with it!
For me, clearly I haven't been cleaning. ;) I did can 12 jars of peaches (I could have canned a few more but it was 11:30 at night and I wanted to go to bed, so I made a peach cobbler from the leftovers the next day). Mark has been busy keeping track of the contractors for the other house (that's a whole other post!) and we're getting close to being done with the systems (HVAC, electrical, and plumbing) and should have functioning air conditioning by the end of the week. I'm sure it will be in just in time to break the heat advisory we're under here. ;)
So what have we been up to?
The boys are in extended summer camp. A few other parents and myself were able to convince them that they needed to offer something during the week and a half before school started, since most of us don't have enough vacation to cover that time plus all of the school holidays. They're basically doing the same things they were before, except no cooking in hot oil and no bus field trips. ;) The boys have picked up the words "dude" and "duh" at summer camp. So I get sentences like this:
"Dude, I have piece of paper?" and "Wow, that's a cool red truck duh."
Can I just say that it's hilarious to hear slang coming out of Alex's mouth mixed in with the speech apraxia, and I find it hysterical that Tim uses the word "duh" (if you can call that a word) but has no idea it's supposed to be sarcastic so he just tacks it on at the end of sentences.
Emily and Danielle are both super-excited for school to start. It's a daily conversation regarding going "upstairs", since the school and their classrooms are on the floor above their preschool classes. Danielle knows most of her letters and numbers to 10 now, although we're still working on it nearly every day after school. Emily's birthday is coming up soon--she'll be 5!--and we're getting her...
...wait for it...
...a vacuum!
Yes, a real working vacuum. She is going to be over-the-moon with her own working vacuum, and I'm thinking my house may be cleaner than I'll know what to do with. ;) It's a small stick vacuum with a telescoping handle, but if it doesn't telescope enough we can remove the handle and she can use it as a hand vacuum. I know it sounds like a bit of a sexist present, but all of my kids love to clean and I anticipate some fighting over Emily's present. A few days ago Alex asked me if, after he came home from summer camp the next afternoon, he could "sweep up the dog hair, and then get the bucket and cloth, and clean the bathroom floor?" And Tim was so excited about it that he wanted to help too. To which I replied that maybe they could each do a bathroom so they could each have one to themselves, and they thought that was a great idea.
No, I am NOT joking. My kids love to clean and I'm going to let them think it's a fun way to play for as long as I can get away with it!
For me, clearly I haven't been cleaning. ;) I did can 12 jars of peaches (I could have canned a few more but it was 11:30 at night and I wanted to go to bed, so I made a peach cobbler from the leftovers the next day). Mark has been busy keeping track of the contractors for the other house (that's a whole other post!) and we're getting close to being done with the systems (HVAC, electrical, and plumbing) and should have functioning air conditioning by the end of the week. I'm sure it will be in just in time to break the heat advisory we're under here. ;)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Summer camp and Alex
Monday when I picked the boys up, their schedule had changed and instead of going swimming they had stayed at the school and had stations (which turned out to be good because apparently I forgot to send shorts with them for after swimming!). For stations they rotate through different "stations" (clever, I know) like cooking, videos, Bible, sports, and arts and crafts.
When I picked them up, Tim and Alex were trying to explain to me what they had made in cooking. It smelled like funnel cakes, but Tim kept telling me it wasn't funnel cakes but he couldn't remember the name of what they had made.
Fast forward a few hours...right before dinner, Alex started complaining that his head hurt. I told him if he didn't feel good he could sit down on the couch or if he wanted he could go to bed. He decided to go to bed so he went upstairs to put his pajamas on. When I went up to turn his AC on and tuck him in he decided he was feeling better and came downstairs to dinner.
And then promptly went in the bathroom and threw up.
That's not unusual for him if he's dehydrated (although it usually happens in the mornings) so I didn't think much of it and he came back and sat down and ate dinner. As soon as he was finished with dinner, he said his head still hurt and asked to be excused to go to bed.
After he had left the table, Tim and I were still trying to piece together what they had made for snack at summer camp.
"You know, it's long, like this...and has cream inside?"
A Twinkie?
"Yeah! A Twinkie! And we put it in the oil, and we turned it like this and it turned brown, and then we put lots of sugar on it and ate it!"
Oh yes they did. They had fried Twinkies for snack. I started laughing so hard, because all at once it was crystal clear as to why Alex didn't feel good. They had fried Twinkies for afternoon snack and then spent the next hour and a half running around playing soccer in the gym. I'm impressed he didn't throw up earlier.
He's been fine the rest of the week, although he did tell me today that fried Twinkies aren't good for you. I'm guessing he won't be eating any more of those for awhile. ;)
When I picked them up, Tim and Alex were trying to explain to me what they had made in cooking. It smelled like funnel cakes, but Tim kept telling me it wasn't funnel cakes but he couldn't remember the name of what they had made.
Fast forward a few hours...right before dinner, Alex started complaining that his head hurt. I told him if he didn't feel good he could sit down on the couch or if he wanted he could go to bed. He decided to go to bed so he went upstairs to put his pajamas on. When I went up to turn his AC on and tuck him in he decided he was feeling better and came downstairs to dinner.
And then promptly went in the bathroom and threw up.
That's not unusual for him if he's dehydrated (although it usually happens in the mornings) so I didn't think much of it and he came back and sat down and ate dinner. As soon as he was finished with dinner, he said his head still hurt and asked to be excused to go to bed.
After he had left the table, Tim and I were still trying to piece together what they had made for snack at summer camp.
"You know, it's long, like this...and has cream inside?"
A Twinkie?
"Yeah! A Twinkie! And we put it in the oil, and we turned it like this and it turned brown, and then we put lots of sugar on it and ate it!"
Oh yes they did. They had fried Twinkies for snack. I started laughing so hard, because all at once it was crystal clear as to why Alex didn't feel good. They had fried Twinkies for afternoon snack and then spent the next hour and a half running around playing soccer in the gym. I'm impressed he didn't throw up earlier.
He's been fine the rest of the week, although he did tell me today that fried Twinkies aren't good for you. I'm guessing he won't be eating any more of those for awhile. ;)
Monday, July 19, 2010
The best entertainment ever
Tim got a birthday card that plays music, and he's had a great time listening to it over...and over...and over...
The kids have been playing games with it like hide-and-seek and train (the person holding the card is the engine and when the music stops the train stops). But today the card stopped working. I suggested to Tim that maybe it needed to rest. :) :)
So he decided that it needed to rest for 10 minutes, until 5pm. He and Alex promptly went in the living room to wait for the card to finish resting (Tim actually laid down on the couch with it) while they watched the clock.
The clock in the living room is over a big arched doorway. After about 5 minutes of waiting, the boys were ready for it to be five o'clock.
So they decided they could maybe "help" the clock get to 5pm.
By jumping.
So they stood under the archway and jumped, taking turns. Then they'd look excitedly at the clock saying "Look! It moved! It's closer to five o'clock!"
Yes, they really did this for 5 WHOLE MINUTES.
Now what I want to know is if I could convince them to help "move" the clock for an hour?? :)
The kids have been playing games with it like hide-and-seek and train (the person holding the card is the engine and when the music stops the train stops). But today the card stopped working. I suggested to Tim that maybe it needed to rest. :) :)
So he decided that it needed to rest for 10 minutes, until 5pm. He and Alex promptly went in the living room to wait for the card to finish resting (Tim actually laid down on the couch with it) while they watched the clock.
The clock in the living room is over a big arched doorway. After about 5 minutes of waiting, the boys were ready for it to be five o'clock.
So they decided they could maybe "help" the clock get to 5pm.
By jumping.
So they stood under the archway and jumped, taking turns. Then they'd look excitedly at the clock saying "Look! It moved! It's closer to five o'clock!"
Yes, they really did this for 5 WHOLE MINUTES.
Now what I want to know is if I could convince them to help "move" the clock for an hour?? :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
What HAVE we been up to?
I go back and forth with not posting because we're too busy or it seems too boring. ;)
In the past week...for the fourth of July we didn't do anything really special. We took the kids to watch the downtown fireworks from a parking garage again this year but we're thinking next year they may be ready to handle actually being downtown in the crowds and the noise. We'll see. ;)
Mark had to work on the 5th but the kids and I were off so we hung out around the house. The weeks stay busy with the kids in summer camp and preschool, plus speech once a week for Emily. So far we've been able to work things out so that the boys are not going to watch the movies that we don't feel are appropriate for them. Since Mark worked last Monday he had a day off to use so he used it to keep the boys on their movie day. They had a good time hanging out with him and still got to watch part of a movie at home, then went back to camp at lunchtime.
Mark and I have seen two shows at the Muny--Beauty and the Beast and Titanic. Beauty and the Beast was--I'm sad to say--very disappointing for me. I love the music from the Broadway version but this did not live up to it at all. There seemed to be whole parts missing from the score and it made things very weird. Usually the Muny puts on top-notch shows but this was a definite disappointment. That was somewhat made up for with Titanic. Mark and I first saw this musical in Michigan and I loved it! Here at the Muny I enjoyed it so much again. For those not familiar with the broadway version of Titanic, it is nothing like the movie...which is a good thing. :) It is such a romantic musical and knowing that it is based on history makes it a very powerful story.
This past weekend we did lots of running around. An old friend from TCU was in town for a wedding so we caught up with her and her family for a couple of hours at a local playground. It was great to get to see them again and to meet their adorable daughter.
This weekend was also Tim's birthday! He is now 7 and was very happy about his birthday. He somehow seemed to believe that everyone he met should tell him happy birthday. ;) For his birthday dinner we went to Hometown Buffet and the kids LOVED it. All they could eat and so many choices! We had some close calls, but no one got sick from overeating. LOL
I made Tim his choice of cake--a church cake that looked like our church...are my kids weird or what?--and it was dry but the icing was fantastic. I haven't liked either of the two cake recipes I've used for the boys' birthdays but this icing was a keeper. I've been eating the leftover icing by the spoonful (makes up for not eating dessert at the buffet! ;)).
Tim liked his cake but told me at church that I left off the statue (our church used to be a Catholic church and there is a statue of a saint in the front towards the top of the building). He was still happy though, because he got to eat the steeple. Weird, I tell you...just weird.
And we've been over to the dirty house a couple of times cleaning out drywall. The kids love to help carry the drywall to the dumpster. Danielle was actually begging to get to go again so she could carry more drywall to the dumpster. Silly girl. They like being able to point out how strong they are, and they try to see how many pieces they can carry at a time.
In dirty house news...all of the drywall is done! Taping and mudding starts this week and the electrician will be out next week. We should have AC in the next couple of weeks which will be great!
In the past week...for the fourth of July we didn't do anything really special. We took the kids to watch the downtown fireworks from a parking garage again this year but we're thinking next year they may be ready to handle actually being downtown in the crowds and the noise. We'll see. ;)
Mark had to work on the 5th but the kids and I were off so we hung out around the house. The weeks stay busy with the kids in summer camp and preschool, plus speech once a week for Emily. So far we've been able to work things out so that the boys are not going to watch the movies that we don't feel are appropriate for them. Since Mark worked last Monday he had a day off to use so he used it to keep the boys on their movie day. They had a good time hanging out with him and still got to watch part of a movie at home, then went back to camp at lunchtime.
Mark and I have seen two shows at the Muny--Beauty and the Beast and Titanic. Beauty and the Beast was--I'm sad to say--very disappointing for me. I love the music from the Broadway version but this did not live up to it at all. There seemed to be whole parts missing from the score and it made things very weird. Usually the Muny puts on top-notch shows but this was a definite disappointment. That was somewhat made up for with Titanic. Mark and I first saw this musical in Michigan and I loved it! Here at the Muny I enjoyed it so much again. For those not familiar with the broadway version of Titanic, it is nothing like the movie...which is a good thing. :) It is such a romantic musical and knowing that it is based on history makes it a very powerful story.
This past weekend we did lots of running around. An old friend from TCU was in town for a wedding so we caught up with her and her family for a couple of hours at a local playground. It was great to get to see them again and to meet their adorable daughter.
This weekend was also Tim's birthday! He is now 7 and was very happy about his birthday. He somehow seemed to believe that everyone he met should tell him happy birthday. ;) For his birthday dinner we went to Hometown Buffet and the kids LOVED it. All they could eat and so many choices! We had some close calls, but no one got sick from overeating. LOL
I made Tim his choice of cake--a church cake that looked like our church...are my kids weird or what?--and it was dry but the icing was fantastic. I haven't liked either of the two cake recipes I've used for the boys' birthdays but this icing was a keeper. I've been eating the leftover icing by the spoonful (makes up for not eating dessert at the buffet! ;)).
Tim liked his cake but told me at church that I left off the statue (our church used to be a Catholic church and there is a statue of a saint in the front towards the top of the building). He was still happy though, because he got to eat the steeple. Weird, I tell you...just weird.
And we've been over to the dirty house a couple of times cleaning out drywall. The kids love to help carry the drywall to the dumpster. Danielle was actually begging to get to go again so she could carry more drywall to the dumpster. Silly girl. They like being able to point out how strong they are, and they try to see how many pieces they can carry at a time.
In dirty house news...all of the drywall is done! Taping and mudding starts this week and the electrician will be out next week. We should have AC in the next couple of weeks which will be great!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Two down, two to go
Sunday after church Tim was stung by a wasp. It was apparently building a nest underneath one of the handrails and it wasn't too happy when Tim put his hand on the handrail. He was stung twice on one hand and once on the other. Other than screaming like a girl (Mark's words ;)) he handled it very well. It didn't swell up much on Sunday, but he woke up Monday morning with both hands pretty swollen.
This afternoon I gave him some benadryl as his little hands were so swollen you couldn't see his knuckles. :( Poor baby. They don't seem to bother him though as he's busy building more houses out of blankets (the latest every-afternoon activity) and the couch.
Two of the kids have now been stung and not had severe reactions. The minimal-reaction part always makes me happy. Here's hoping the other two respond the same way!
This afternoon I gave him some benadryl as his little hands were so swollen you couldn't see his knuckles. :( Poor baby. They don't seem to bother him though as he's busy building more houses out of blankets (the latest every-afternoon activity) and the couch.
Two of the kids have now been stung and not had severe reactions. The minimal-reaction part always makes me happy. Here's hoping the other two respond the same way!
Friday, June 25, 2010
No more school
Today when I picked the kids up, Tim informed me that he no longer wanted to go to school. He only wants to go to summer camp. Specifically...
"I don't want to go to school anymore. I only want to go to summer camp. I already know how to read. I don't need to go to school anymore."
Apparently being able to read 3 and 4 letter words with one or two vowels means you have maxed out your learning opportunities at school. Can't say I was surprised by this one. Tim would much rather be running and doing than sitting and learning! :)
"I don't want to go to school anymore. I only want to go to summer camp. I already know how to read. I don't need to go to school anymore."
Apparently being able to read 3 and 4 letter words with one or two vowels means you have maxed out your learning opportunities at school. Can't say I was surprised by this one. Tim would much rather be running and doing than sitting and learning! :)
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