Just Thinking Outloud

The laundry is turning me into a crazy lady, I think. I am washing load after load, but it seems to be getting dirty faster than I can make it clean again. I hate piles of laundry, but I have them anyway… in both my laundry room and in my bathroom. Ugh. Then I spend several hours at night just folding clean clothes that I washed that day. Who knew 8 people could produce this much laundry?

Other than my constant battle with the laundry, we’ve had such a lazy day today. We’ve all just laid around the house together, doing little and enjoying it a lot. The kids built another “Fun Galleree,” which is their version of a homemade amusement park. They’re having a blast with it. The littlest ones are tired and fighting infections and have slept a lot today. The house has felt extra quiet.

I’m actually still in my pajamas. I’m tired and our house is cold so staying in my jammies all day just seemed like the right thing to do. Somehow, I just can’t bring myself to turn on the heater when it’s practically May now, although I did give in and use our little space heaters last night. I didn’t want my babies to be cold. The kiddie pool on our back porch was frozen this morning…. which should attest to how cold it was last night… and how warm it has been in recent days. This crazy weather! We get a “tease” of a few delightfully warm days, we all wear sandals and run through the sprinklers… and then it snows. I am ready for spring/summer instead. I keep wearing flip flops, rain or shine. I guess I am defying the weather.

I’m starving, and feeling slightly sick. I wanted Cup O Noodle soup for lunch… and then realized the last cup of it was gone. Argh! I really wanted that soup. I’ve been majorly craving Flavor Blaster Goldfish crackers, but I ate an entire box of them last night and I don’t have any more. Yes, I did say entire. They were so delicious, I just couldn’t stop. Now I’m wishing I would have saved just a little bit for today. Would one serving have been too much to ask?

My sweet friend just gave me a whole bunch of little boy clothes- darling clothes in great shape- for my three little guys! It was such a treat! Braden was excited when I brought them all home yesterday. He immediately picked out a new outfit and changed into it. Then he discovered the cute little ninja costume my friend gave us along with everything else. He was so excited! He wore it the rest of the day and spent most of his time jumping, spinning, kicking, and shouting, “Hi- yah!” It was very cute. Now he wants to take “real karate.”

We have a big party tonight, an end-of-season bash with Joshua’s wrestling team. Everyone is excited to go. I’m excited too… but I also don’t want to do all the work that goes into preparing for it. You know, getting kids dressed and cute, going to the grocery store for pot luck food, fixing an entire meal for Joshua to pack and bring along, spending all night out with the kids (while Rick works) especially when the two youngest boys are still not feeling well. (They are not contagious, but with double ear infections for Jacob and a sinus infection for Asher and both of them coughing, they aren’t the happiest campers lately.) Maybe Rick can go in late to work and accompany us.

I do need to get dressed soon though. It’s nearly 1:00 in the afternoon now. We have to leave for gymnastics in 1.5 hours and then we still have to go to the store and cook, prepare, and pack food and then be at the party by dinnertime. I think my “lazy day” is coming to an end.

Torn

Brenna loves gymnastics. She’s been involved in the sport for several years, with the same coaches and friends and teammates during most of that time. It’s been an amazing experience for her. She is now training as a Level 5, which is also exciting.

Maddie is a cheerleader at heart. When people who know her hear that she is starting cheerleading, they always comment on the fact that she’s such a perfect little cheerleader. I don’t know if it’s her bouncy, friendly personality, her enthusiasm for life, the way that she cheers for everyone around her, or if it’s just her big, gorgeous brown eyes. But something about Maddie makes her seem like a cheerleader.

Maddie recently started a cheer class. She loves it and she’s doing well. She is having a ball! After a recent class, Brenna asked the coach if she could use the floor to practice for a minute. The coach said yes and Brenna- always the gymnast- began to practice immediately. She was tumbling and practicing her front walk overs and her back tucks (which are both things that she has taught herself). The head coach approached me and asked how old she was. She watched her tumble for a few more minutes and then invited her to come practice with their 5-8 year old advanced team.

I told Brenna that we couldn’t afford both cheer and gymnastics, but she wanted to try a practice anyway. Of course, she had a great time. She did great in her group. The tumbling, of course, came easily to her and she caught on pretty quickly to the other basics of cheerleading. She had so much fun.

The coaches were eager to get Brenna to join their team. They offered to let Maddie practice with the older team (5-8) and the younger team (3-5) so that she could come to the gym at the same time as Brenna without paying extra. They promised Brenna a position as a flyer on the advanced 8-11 year old team as soon as she learns the basics of cheerleading (probably by next season). They also told her that she is a talented tumbler and they’d teach her a lot more tumbling for cheer.

Brenna was hooked. I think it was fun for her. I think she was excited to see that they really wanted her to join them.  She loves to tumble and I think that was appealing to her as well. This put Brenna at a crossroads though. She suddenly (and unexpectedly) had to choose between the sport she already loves and does well at (gymnastics) and the sport that seems like it might be lots of fun as well (cheerleading). She has gone back and forth with her decision and I can’t say I blame her. I would have trouble with this decision as well.

Brenna has worked hard as a gymnast and I don’t want to see her toss that aside on a whim. I spoke with lots of coaches and worked out a deal that just might work, both budget and time wise. Brenna would train and compete with the 5-8 year advanced team. This would give her a chance to learn about cheerleading, do some more tumbling, compete, and then really decide if she likes it. Her gymnastics coaches will allow her to practice and train as a Level 5 gymnast, but only attending half the hours they usually require. She would sit out of gymnastics competitions for two seasons. This combination- cheer and gymnastics total- would give her less gym hours than if she was training as a Level 5 full-time and it would be cheaper (again, for both) than training as a L5 full-time would have been. Plus we won’t have competition fees for fall and spring. Hopefully, this would give her a chance to really experience cheer while still “keeping her foot in the door” at gymnastics. By next spring, she could make a very educated, experienced choice about whether she wants to continue as a gymnast or a cheerleader. We’re still finalizing details, but I think this will work.

My biggest concern is Madalyn. I don’t ever want to her to feel overshadowed by her older sister. I don’t want to take away “Maddie’s thing” and force her to share it. I do think she would be okay. She and Brenna are very close and Madalyn has said she’d love to be on the same team with her sister. (Technically, they wouldn’t be on the same team, but they would be cheering through the same all-star gym.) But I still worry.

I still feel a little unsettled about the whole thing. I don’t know exactly what is bothering me. On paper it works great, but my emotions aren’t in the same place. Maybe I’m just worried about Maddie. Maybe I want Brenna to stay a gymnast and let Maddie have her chance to be a cheerleader. Maybe I’m worried about time or money. Or maybe I’m just a little bit crazy.

I want to do what is best for both of my beautiful girls. I pray that Heavenly Father will guide us as we make this choice.

We need to decide by tomorrow.

Big Helper

Asher is a big helper these days. He loves to help! Asher loves helping with dishes, laundry, garbage, vacuuming, anything. Asher gathers dirty laundry and expertly throws it into the hamper. He throws diapers away. He picks up toys. He empties and loads the dishwasher, and sets and clears the table. Sometimes, he tries to throw clean laundry into the hamper or grab dirty dishes out of the dishwasher and put them away in the cupboard, but he does well for the most part.

Asher is the only one-year-old I’ve met who is absolutely fearless when it comes to the vacuum cleaner. Most kids are scared of it or at least nervous about it, but not Asher! He’s a bit of a dare devil when I got the vacuum out. He honestly makes his mommy a little nervous. He wants to ride on top of the vacuum so he always tries to leap on top of it while I’m using it.  He dashes in front of it (again, while I am vacuuming) and drops to his belly in an attempt to see where the noise is coming from. I’m always afraid that I am going to run right into his tiny nose. He’s quick. I gave Asher his own little vacuum to push around and that seems to help. He vacuums along with me.

 I do hope this zest for cleaning continues into Asher’s teenage years! (I can dream, right?)

Yummy Pink Medicine

Asher is currently taking an antibiotic for a sinus infection. (I’m so glad- the snotty nose that wouldn’t go away is finally getting better!) Asher loves his medicine. This morning, he opened the dishwasher by himself, found a medicine syringe, brought it to me and asked for “more, more.” At least he takes his medicine willingly… which is more than I can say for his baby brother!

Clues?

Jacob gets frequent (er, constant, is more like it) double ear infections. The big problem is that he gives me very few clues when he does have an ear infection. He doesn’t usually run fevers and they are very low-grade when he does. He is still really happy and smiley even with a raging double ear infection. He still has a pretty good appetite too.

Since Jacob doesn’t give me the obvious signs that he’s got ear infections, I try to look for the less obvious signs instead. I’ve noticed he seems to have trouble sleeping when his ears hurt, and his nose usually runs like a faucet as well. Sometimes he whimpers when he latches on. However, I am sort of the to the point where if he’s not on antibiotics I assume he’s got a set of double ear infections. And even when he IS on antibiotics, I wonder if they are actually working (for Jake, the don’t always work).

Jacob is exactly halfway through another course of antibiotics. He had a really rough night last night. He wanted to be rocked in my arms all night long and even that didn’t always seem to soothe him. Of course, I’m wondering if his prescription is even working right now. I kind of wish he’d just run a fever so that I would know it was time for a doctor visit. A sleepless night could be caused by so many things. I guess I’ll keep an eye on him and wait this out a little longer.

So does a long, long sleepless night last night justify a lazy day today? I hope so! I’m not really in the mood to do much of anything. I’ve already canceled homeschool for the day (and, yes, I feel guilty about it). I need to keep up with chores, of course, or I’ll be buried by tomorrow… but I’d like to do the minimum that’s necessary. We have to go to the grocery store and gymnastics practice, and we have a party with the wrestling team tonight and a gymnastics meet early tomorrow morning.

I hope my little Jakers gets feeling (and sleeping) better soon!

In Braden’s Words

Braden asked, “Mommy, can I go to Nammy and Papa’s house? I’m hungry.”

I guess Braden has learned that my parents feed him well!

Cute Maddie

Maddie was fixing my hair tonight before bed. It’s one of her favorite things to do. She carefully brushed my hair and then pushed it into several (tight) pony tails. She added some clips and bows. Just as I thought she was finished with her work, Madalyn noticed the detangler cream in our box of hair stuff. She snatched the bottle and while she squeezed a big glob into her hand, she asked, “What is this for? Cause I really need some.”

Overheard at 7:00 AM

Jacob’s been having some long nights with his nasty cough and ear infections, and I’m just more tired than usual lately. So this morning when Asher woke up around 7:00 AM, I sent him downstairs to Joshua. I knew Josh was already awake and felt confident that he’d step in and at least fill a sippy cup for his little brother. I crawled back into bed for just a few more minutes. In the total silence of our sleeping household, I overheard Joshua greet Asher:

“Oh, hi Ash,” Joshua said cheerfully. And then, sounding far older than his barely seven years, he added, “I’ll make you a yummy breakfast after I finish the dishes, okay?”

Sure enough, Joshua emptied the dishwasher early this morning and loaded the few dirty dishes that were sitting in the sink. He made breakfast for everyone as they woke up and then he  insisted that the dishes be loaded into the dishwasher after the kids had eaten. What a sweet, helpful boy!!

Jacob’s Test Results (yay!)

Jacob began coughing last week. Within days, the cough had me worried. It was so severe and he struggled for breathe during his coughing fits. I took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning. We found out that he had nasty double ear infections (again). The doctor listened to his cough and was immediately concerned about Pertussis (whooping cough). Jacob made the “classic whooping noise” as he struggled to inhale during coughing fits. The doctor said his chances of having whooping cough were actually pretty low because the entire family was fully immunized (including adult boosters) and because Jacob had had two of the first three vaccinations in the DTaP series and was partially protected as a result. Still, Jake’s cough was so alarming that the pediatrician sent us to the hospital for immediate testing.

Thankfully, Jacob’s test for Pertussis was negative! Whew! It looks like he’s just dealing with a horrible cough and nasty double ear infections. Compared to whooping cough, I think we can handle those things! I am so thankful that it’s not whopping cough!

Double Ear Infections… Again

Poor Jacob has yet ANOTHER set of double ear infections! This baby just came off his last round of antibiotics a week ago… and that time it required three weeks of two different antibiotics to clear up his infected, ruptured ears. His doctor gave him a hefty shot of antibiotics in the office and prescribed another prescription for him, his third this month and his fourth since mid February. Poor baby! His tiny ears can’t catch a break.

If (when, sorry to be so pessimistic) Jacob gets another ear infection or if this infection is hard to clear up like the last one was, he’ll go see an ENT.

The doctor was also concerned about Jacob’s horrible cough and sent him to the hospital for testing. Please pray for negative test results and a speedy recovery!