Pippi Longstocking

Brenna and Joshua recently discovered the Pippi Longstocking series during our weekly trip to the library. They are both hooked. They each check out a book, read it and giggle over it and love it, and then swap and read the book their sibling checked out. I love to see them both enjoying reading so much.

They’ve been hooked on Junie B Jones for ages. Junie B books are only about a 2nd grade reading level and both kids can easily finish an entire book in less than an hour. I push them to read books that are more challenging for school, but reading for fun should allow them to read just about anything they choose. Every week they each check out a Junie B book and then they finish both books before the day is over. 

Pippi Longstocking books are between 5th and 6th grade reading level and I am glad to see both kids choosing books closer to their actual reading level. (Josh has been reading at about 4th-5th grade and Brenna at 6th-7th.) I am happy that they are hooked into a more challenging series now and really enjoying it.

Sick Days

I am still feeling awful so we are taking it easy today. We’re keeping the house clean and the dishes done. The kids are homeschooling today, but not their afternoon classes. I am going to try to get at least two loads of laundry done. We’re staying home from football practice and I am calling to cancel the kids’ flu shots that were scheduled for today. It should be a restful day and hopefully it will help me kick this bug.

*   *   *

7:15pm… I am pleasantly surprised by how well things are going even during this nasty sinus infection. My older three kids have been really pitching in so that helps a lot. We got our homeschool done, kept up on the dishes, kept the house completely tidy, and washed, folded, and put away two loads of laundry. Even with all that, I’ve been able to rest a lot, which is good for me right now. I’m still feeling awful, but I’m glad that at least I won’t have tons of work to catch up on after I feel better.

98%

Brenna got a 98% on her math test today. There were some pretty difficult problems, but Brenna was confident and did well. She missed one problem, but it was due to a simple adding error, not due to an lack of understanding on her part. Math tends to be the subject that Brenna struggles the most with. She is bright, understands the concepts, is a full grade ahead in math, and is progressing rapidly. But math does not come as easily to her as other subjects do and she often gets frustrated as a result. I wish she’d give herself a little more credit sometimes. Good test scores are reassuring for both of us. Brenna takes so much pride in doing well and I am proud of her too. She is so smart and doing so well in school. Way to go, girly!

Bleck

It started last night at about 7:30pm. I began to feel pressure in my sinuses. Before long, my throat was sore and my nose was stuffy and my throat began to hurt. I knew I was getting a cold and I felt it would be a nasty one by how hard and fast it was coming on. Every hour I felt a little worse.

Rick went to get some Zi-cam for me. He figured it would be okay for me to take because it’s just zinc, but he asked the pharmacist just in case. When Rick told him that I was 8 months pregnant, the pharmacist said I shouldn’t take it. Oh well. Rick brought me home oreos and an Arby’s sandwich instead.

I stayed up late talking with Rick and his sister, Elaine, who was staying the night with us. When I finally went to bed, I slept terribly. I woke up once or twice an hour because I couldn’t breathe or had a hard contraction or needed to go to the bathroom. Asher slept with me last night and he was rather fitful all night long and then threw up twice in the early morning. It was not a very restful night’s sleep.

I’d planned to let the kids sleep in as late as they wanted to (so that I could sleep in as well), but everyone was up and going between 7 and 7:30 anyway. Brenna and Josh made oatmeal for all the kids and I was grateful because I really didn’t want to make breakfast myself.

I felt really awful this morning. Just as I suspected, this had turned into a real doozy of a cold. We spent the morning sitting around. Elaine and I talked (I felt bad that I was such a “bump on a log” while she was here) and we turned on a movie for the little ones to watch. Brenna and Joshua worked on the “store” that they started yesterday, adding more signs and more merchandise (little hand-made paper puppets) and even a little tip jar. They made coupons and had a sale as well, hoping to entice a few customers to come to “Fun Gallery,” which was the name of their store. Braden was smitten by his four-month-old cousin Hailee and kept insisting, “I think she really loves me!”

Elaine left for the airport a little before lunch. The kids cleaned up quickly so that they could pass “inspection” while I made lunch. I opted for the easiest lunch possible. I basically grabbed various foods (string cheese, lunch meat, yogurt, and so on) from the fridge, and the kids ate on paper plates.

I managed to start a load of laundry washing and to fold the load of towels that was in the dryer from the night before. I am glad that towels are so quick and easy to fold. I put Asher (who is still not feeling well) down for a nap and started another movie for Maddie and Braden to watch. I debated taking the school day off because I feel so yucky, but I decided that I’d rather save our time off for later. However, we won’t be doing afternoon classes today- history, geography, and art.  Brenna and Joshua are sitting next to me working dilligently on their homeschool work.

I am sitting on the couch, hoping that my eyeballs don’t pop out and that my ears don’t explode. There is so much pressure inside my head and face. I think I have a sinus infection, as opposed to a “regular” cold. My chest is so tight that I can hardly catch my breath, even while sitting down. My right ear is killing me and my throat is so sore. I ate a few oreos this morning, but I haven’t had an appetite for anything. I really need to try drinking something so I don’t get dehydrated. I am having a lot of contractions today and dehydration will just make that worse. My cold is so intense that it’s making me queasy and I don’t know if I can keep anything down right now. I just feel horrible, and it’s getting worse.

We’re going to have an easy week while I deal with this cold (it seems like such an incredible understatement to call the way I feel a “cold”). I plan to keep the house tidy and to keep up on the laundry. We are going to continue with homeschool as well, but I will cancel our afternoon classes this week- no Latin, history, geography, science, art, or creative writing until I feel better. I am not sure about the kids’ activities. Brenna has gymnastics today and Friday and Joshua has football practice for the next three nights. I really want them to attend (and, of course, they want to go as well), but I don’t know if I will be up for taking everyone.

I HAVE to feel better by this weekend though. We have our practice for the Primary Program on Saturday morning, and as Primary Chorister I need to be there. My friend’s baby shower is Saturday from 11-1, but I don’t know if I will make it. Brenna has a gymnastics meet on Saturday and she needs to be to the gym by 11:30. Joshua has a football game at 1:30 (but he needs to be there at 12:45 to warm up) and I am in charge of end game treats for the team. Rick will take him while I stay at gymnastics with Brenna.

For the first time in our years as parents, we have to split up in order to support the kids at their various activities. I wish there was a way that we could both attend both events, but at least Brenna and Josh don’t have to miss games or meets and at least they will both have one parent and a few siblings there to cheer them on. Rick will come back to the gym after the game and Brenna should be done at the meet by dinner. We have already decided that we’d like to go out to eat that night to celebrate Brenna’s first real gymnastics meet.

So between the Primary Program practice, the baby shower, the football game, and the (day-long) gymnastics meet, I’ll be running all day long. I really need to be at my best again. Wish me luck!

Game 5

I slept terribly last night. I didn’t fall asleep until around 1am and then a weird dream woke me at 4am and I couldn’t fall back to sleep afterwards. When I finally did start to drift off around 4:45, Maddie woke up from a nightmare so I was up with her comforting her and getting her settled into my bed to sleep. Just as she was settled, Asher woke up (around 5am). The kid seriously thought it was morning. I tried to snuggle, tried to soothe him back to sleep, but it just felt like a big wrestling match between a tired mama and a baby who was tired too, but trying not to act like it. At 6:20 (having been up since 4am, remember), I finally just put him in his crib. He fussed a bit and then went back to sleep.

At 8:10, Brenna woke me up, shaking me gently and saying, “Mommy, it’s 8:10. Doesn’t Joshy have a football game this morning?” Whew! I was glad she woke me! I had just enough time to get the kids up and dressed, make a batch of gluten-free cookies (because I realized I didn’t have a suitable “end game treat” for Josh, and grab all of our water bottles, chairs, cameras and so on, before we left the house at 9:15am.

The game went really well today. Our team lost by just one point so I guess that was a bummer. But I was thrilled because our coach asked the refs before the game to really watch out for face-masking. Face-masking (and helmet grabbing in general) has been a terrible problem during every game, but it never gets addressed. Joshua gets the brunt of it because of the position he plays and it has really upset me. Last week, I was ready to pull him out of football because he was being thrown around by his helmet one every play. His neck was sore after the game. Dangerous and illegal stuff like that should simply not be tolerated.

Anyway, our coach spoke with the refs and the other coach before the game and let them know that we’ve been having problems with this during the last few games. The refs were very aware of it. There were four flags thrown for face-masking and after that the other coaches really worked to keep their players from doing it. I only saw Joshua get grabbed and tossed by his helmet one time. So even though our boys lost (barely), I felt a huge sense of victory because the face-masking was finally put into check. Yay! Now we just need to make sure it’s addressed at every game!

We’re home now. It’s nice to have Rick home on a Saturday! I love it! I am going to clean the house, fold laundry, do dishes, and finish homeschool with Brenna. Joshua finished his make-up work already, but Brenna has some math and reading to finish. Rick is going to mow the lawn and clean the garage. The kids are going to clean their bedrooms and the playroom.

Once our chores are done, we’ll be going to the park to play as a family. Joshua wants to teach the other kids the “sharks and minnows” game he learned during football practice. We’re planning on a family game of kick ball as well and maybe some flag football.

This is a good Saturday.

November

It’s 4am. I really ought to be sleeping, especially considering that I’m getting up in just a few hours and that I have a busy day tomorrow (um, today) with a football game in the morning, lots of chores as always, some make-up homeschool to finish, baking to do, and playdates planned for the kids. But I still can’t sleep.

I’ve been thinking a lot about our upcoming schedule for the next few months. The rest of September, which I am sure will fly by really quickly, should be about the same as the first half of September was. We have two gymnastics meets this month (one was a few weeks ago and one is next week) and lots of football games, but that is all pretty routine now . October will be more of the same with three gymnastics meets and football games every Saturday. Of course, there will be tons and tons of Halloween fun during October as well, which I am really looking forward to! We always enjoy lots of traditions and festivities for Halloween.

It’s November that is going to get crazy for us. For starters, we will have a newborn! If this baby has not come by the end of October, I am positive that he will come within the first few days of November. So everything that happens during November will happen with a baby in my arms.

Scheduling will get nutty because three sports (all of which require a great deal of time and energy) will converge during November. Brenna’s gymnastics season will be in full swing as she gears up for the state finals at the end of November. Joshua’s football season will technically be over, but his team is doing amazingly well this year and it’s predicted that they’ll be playing in the league playoffs in November. November could be the most intense month of all for his football season. Joshua’s wrestling season will be just starting so he’ll have practices 3-4 times a week and probably two tournaments during November as well. Between all the practices for each sport, plus games, meets, and tournaments on Saturdays, plus homeschool and all of our regular weekly activities (choir, cheer, Braden’s gymnastics, etc) I am expecting the month to be very, very busy.

And, as I already mentioned, we’ll have a tiny newborn during all of this and a mama who is recovering from childbirth. Thankfully, I have always been blessed with amazing recoveries. I usually feel better the day I deliver than I did the day before when I was 9 months pregnant, and then I just improve from there. If I can successfully VBAC this time, I am anticipating another swift and easy recovery. 

We’ll have a bit of a lull over the Thanksgiving break. Sports and activities will be canceled that week and we don’t have plans to travel anywhere for Thanksgiving (mostly because Rick has to work, but also because we will have such a tiny newborn). It should be a relaxed Thanksgiving for our family and a great time to regroup after our busy November.

In December things will have settled down. Football will be over. Gymnastics will continue, but the competition season will be finished so we won’t have to juggle meets anymore. Wrestling will be going strong with 3-4 tournaments during the month of December. We’ll have choir, cheer, and Braden’s gymnastics as usual. But, after the craziness of November, I am sure our schedule will feel quite relaxed during December! And, of course, there will be all the fun and excitement of the holidays!! We are all already excited about Christmas! It is such a magical time.

I’m looking forward to a fun and busy couple of months and to the back-to-back joy of the holidays. I’m looking forward to having a sweet new baby boy! The next few months should be lots of fun for our family. I’m sure that 2010 will be here before we know it!!

Selected Neglect

I love the term ”selected neglect” and every now and then I get a chance to put it into practice! Sometimes, as busy mommies, we have to set aside certain things in order to accomplish the things that are more important. Choosing to temporarily ignore something farther down on the list of priorities is invaluable.

This morning I practiced “selected neglect” when I chose to overlook my dishes, laundry, and other household chores so that we could focus on homeschool instead. I felt that homeschool was a bigger priority, especially after we took a day off earlier in the week, and just tried to ignore my nagging list of chores.

It’s 1pm now and we did get all of our school work finished and a few rooms picked up as well. The laundry and dishes are still calling out to me, but I have decided to practice “selected neglect” again this afternoon. I am going to neglect my chores and read with my kids before the little boys go down for their naps. Once Braden and Asher are in bed, I am going to let the older kids watch a movie while I… drum roll, please… take a bath! I really want a bath.

Thank goodness for some occasional “selected neglect!”

Happy Days

I just wrote a long post about our productive day, but then it somehow disappeared. I don’t feel like rewriting it. Suffice to say, it has been a good and productive day. And I feel happy.

Another Monday

Another Monday has come and gone. Time is passing so quickly these days. We are so busy and the hours just speed by during the day. Before I know it, another week has passed already.

I got up at 7am this morning and it felt good to sleep in. The kids and I were off to the library by 8:30. They were all bouncing with excitement. I love how thrilled they get about going to the library. I have always wanted to foster a deep love of reading in each of my children so it makes me happy to see how delighted they are by our weekly library trips. We got all the books we need for school this week, and the kids each selected several books that they wanted for themselves. Today was the first day of story time since the summer program ended. The kids were glad and they enjoyed story time.

As soon as story time was over, we had just 15 minutes to get to gymnastics. Thankfully, the rec center is right across the street from the library. Braden enjoyed his very first gymnastics class. He was so tiny compared to the other three-year-olds and he looked so cute as he participated. I think this class will be good for him. I think it will be good for him to be in a classroom setting with other children, taking turns and waiting in line, and following directions from an adult other than mommy or daddy. I also think the skills they work on will help develop his coordination and strength.

Brenna had a private gymnastics lesson while Braden was in his class. She has a few skills that she needs to master. We decided, since we are already spending so much for her to compete this season, we might as well spend a little more on private lessons and make sure that she is really ready for her meets.

We were home around noon, just in time for lunch. Rick and I had our weekly correlation meeting (where we discuss our budget, our schedule, our meal plan, and each of our children and their individual needs) because we hadn’t had time to do it the day before. We scoured part of the house and will finish the rest tomorrow.

At 2:30, the girls and I left for gymnastics (for Brenna) and cheer (for Maddie). We got home at 5:30pm. I swapped kids around, leaving the girls with Rick and taking Joshy with me. We went to a sporting goods store to buy him Under Armor Coldgear for the frigid second half  of football season. They still didn’t have everything in stock that we needed, but we at least have shirt and pants now.

Afterwards, Josh went grocery shopping with me. He’s a delightful little boy and it was fun to spend time with just him, my sweet oldest son. I bought him a gumball and let him pick out a special treat for the week. He picked Go-Gurts. We also bought all of our groceries for the week. I am still shopping conservatively so we only spent $52 for the week.

Josh and I made it home by 7:30. Rick was good enough to feed the kids (he fed Josh before I took him to the store) and tidy up the kitchen. We put the kids to bed at 8:15. We watched football in our room while I made copies for this week of homeschool.

As silly as it might sound, today I had three big “firsts” in my new 12-passenger van. I drove it in the rain for the first time, on the freeway for the first time, and in the dark (well semi-dark) for the first time.

It’s been a great day, busy and full. This is why my days pass so quickly! Tomorrow will be just as busy with homeschooling, baking bread, scouring and cleaning the house, lots of laundry, a doctor appointment, an ultrasound, choir practice for Brenna, a meeting at church, and company (Grandma, Aunt Elaine, and three cousins) coming into town.

A Party

I had a rough day yesterday. I’ve been having a lot of contractions lately, I haven’t been sleeping well, and Asher has been up earlier than usual in the morning. In spite of the fact that I am finally keeping my iron supplements down, I still feel that weak, heavy, light-headed feeling that comes with anemia. So physically I wasn’t feeling very good.

On top of not feeling well, I was emotional after Joshua’s football game. There is a lot of blatant, dangerous cheating going on during games and it’s being overlooked. Because of the position that Josh plays, he seems to get the brunt of it. It makes me angry to see boys twice his size grab his helmet (illegal and very dangerous) and use it as leverage to throw him around. That could really hurt him, which is why it’s against the rules. All day yesterday, I was tearful and emotional about this. It really upsets me, especially because it happens at every game and no one does anything about it.

We did homeschool, which went well. Brenna got 100% on her spelling test and Joshua only missed one. Joshua also aced his math quiz. He did miss one problem, but it was a simple mistake and he did know the correct answer. He was broken-hearted because he only got 97% instead of 100%. We got the house tidy and some laundry and dishes done, but I was still feeling down.

Finally, in the late afternoon, I called all the kids to me. I told them that I was having a hard day, that I didn’t feel well and that I was sad. There was concern all over their small faces so I quickly added that we needed to have some fun so that I could cheer up a little. They were immediately excited, even before I explained what I wanted to do. I told the kids that we needed a little family party. I’d give them $20 for their budget and they’d make all the party planning decisions. The only rules were that everyone had to agree on how they spent their party money and that they couldn’t spend more than $20. They were so excited!

We spent a long time at Walmart while the kids discussed their party ideas and did a lot of price checking. They were very, very careful with everything they put in the cart and they kept a running total to make sure they stayed under $20. It turned out to be a great exercise in teamwork, budgeting, and math.

The kids decided that they wanted dinner, desert, and treats to eat during a movie night. They tossed around a lot of ideas, but eventually decided on breakfast sandwiches with strawberries and juice for dinner. They bought an ice cream pie for dessert and a box of candy for the movie. They asked me to make my special caramel popcorn for the movie also and were excited when I told them I would and even more excited when I told them that we had all the ingredients at home except for the popcorn. When they added their total and realized that they still had some money left, the kids discussed it and agreed to buy whipped cream for the strawberries. They spent $16 total. They eagerly looked over the receipt together and they kept saying, “We are so good at staying on a budget!” They were so proud of themselves!

At home, I quickly made caramel popcorn (maybe I will post the recipe- it is delicious and easy). When Rick got home, I scrambled eggs and cooked the sausage and we assembled the breakfast sandwiches. They kids were so happy with their party and so proud that they’d planned it and budgeted for it themselves. And having a party really did boost my mood.

Once the kids were settled with a movie, caramel popcorn, and candy, I showed Rick some footage from the football game. He’d missed the game because he had to work and he was livid when he saw the obvious face-masking and helmet slamming that was going on nearly every play. I felt so validated! I wasn’t just a paranoid, overprotective mama! I was right! The stuff that was happening to Josh really was illegal (and dangerous) and I had the video footage to prove it.

Rick called the coach and expressed our concern. The coach told us he was aware of the problem and had already decided to make bigger deal about it if it happens at the next game. I hope that he does. If this is not taken care of, Rick and I have already decided that we will go to the league officials with a formal complaint. It’s very dangerous for this to be happening. Plus, it’s poor practice to allow these boys to do illegal things out on the field. What does that teach them? That it’s okay to cheat?

I still feel upset about this, but I do feel a lot better than I did. I am glad that we have a plan, that Rick is on my side, and that we have proof of what’s happening. I just feel bad because this is not what I wanted for Joshua’s football experience. And I worry that he will get seriously hurt; he told me that his neck got hurt three times at the game yesterday. Thankfully, it feels better now though.

Josh, however, has a great attitude about all this. He’s committed to his team and he still loves football and is excited to play. He knows that it’s illegal when the boys pick him up and throw him around by his helmet. It upsets him that they do this, but he has a good attitude about it anyway. He has learned a lot about how important it is to be fair and have good sportsmanship. He is such a good kid, so sweet and kind. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way (nor do the couple of other boys that it’s happening to as well). I hope we get it worked out soon. Even just thinking about it, gets me emotional again.