Going Out

Rick and I have a weekly date night, and it is generally at home after the kids are in bed. But every once in a great while we are able to get a babysitter and go out for the evening together. Last night we did just that!

It had been a busy weekend already, between Brenna’s choir concert and Joshua’s wrestling tournament, so we were both tired. But we were eager to spend some time just the two of us.

I have a really hard time leaving my kids, and I especially don’t like leaving them with teenage babysitters. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve left them with a babysitter (excluding family members). But we have finally found a babysitter that we really trust. She’s 17, very sweet and responsible, the oldest of eight kids in her family, and our children really like her. We’ve used her a few times already and we booked her again for last night.

We ordered pizza for the kids, kissed everyone good-bye, and left them happily playing with the babysitter. Of course, little Jacob joined us on our date.

We did some Christmas shopping for the kids. It’s always fun to shop for them, to find the things we know they’ll love, and imagine how happy they’ll be! We ate a yummy dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We waited for our table for nearly two hours so it’s a good thing the food was delicious and the service was good! We  also saw New Moon together. 

It was snowing after we left the movie. It was the perfect kind of snowfall, the kind that makes you feel like you are living inside a Christmas card. The flakes were big and fluffy, falling slowly and gracefully. The parking lot was deserted. The air was unexpectedly warm. The Christmas lights and the lights in the parking lot reflected off all the new snow so it was really bright and felt almost like day time even though it was 12:30am. I’ve never seen anything quite like it! It was really beautiful and magical. 

We had a great date! I am so thankful for my sweet husband!

Our Family of Eight

Monday Funday

Our life is getting busier and busier. Between Rick’s work schedule, homeschool, household duties, and the many time-consuming activities that our kids are involved in, we are constantly doing something. We work hard to create family time in the midst of our jam-packed schedule. On Monday (Rick’s day off), we used to visit the library, go grocery shopping, and run errands, but lately we’ve been focusing on planning a fun family activity for Monday morning and afternoon instead. Shopping and errands and even the library can wait. We wanted our kids to be able to count on a fun family activity every Monday.

Today for Monday Funday (as the kids have begun calling it) we saw the movie UP. It was playing in the dollar theater.  (We never see a theater movie unless it’s in the dollar theater.) We had a great time together and the movie was very cute.

Jacob slept through the entire movie and the four older kids watched from start to finish. Asher was the only difficult one. He sat quietly in the beginning, but then he started to fuss. He got more and more upset and before long even the candy and popcorn we had wasn’t enough to console him. Rick took him out for a while, then I took him.

As I walked the halls Asher got more and more upset. He was crying so hard that I started to worry about him. Concerned that he was hurting somewhere, I took him to the bathroom and checked him for an injury or something that might have been poking or hurting. Then I had the thought, “Take off his shoes. His feet might be hot.” I slipped his shoes off and he was asleep in my arms within five minutes. Go figure. We stopped for lunch after the movie.

With our Monday Funday activity finished, we went to gymnastics. Brenna went to practice, Rick and Josh worked out together in the same rec center, and I took everyone else grocery shopping. We met back up for dinner and wrestling practice.

It was a wonderful, fun, memorable Monday.

Date Night

Rick and I have a date night each week. It’s important for us to save one night a week just for each other. Of course, with six children, our date nights are usually spent at home after the kids are in bed for the night. But on Saturday night we finally had an out-of-the-house date. We haven’t gone out together in a long time.

Our babysitter arrived at 4pm, along with her two younger sisters (Brenna’s good friends). Joshua insisted on calling her a “kid-sitter” though because, as he pointed out, he wasn’t a baby. Of course, our little Jacob joined us on our date.

We ate dinner at Applebee’s. Yum! It was nice to eat and talk and hold hands and enjoy being together. Afterwards we went bowling. I am a terrible bowler, but we both had fun. We bowled two games and did a lot of laughing and flirting and teasing and kissing. My bowling improved quite a bit during our second game and I even got a strike! We played air hockey next, something that we’ve enjoyed since we first started dating nearly nine years ago. We’ve always imagined that we’ll be old grandparents and still enjoy playing air hockey together. Rick bought me a hot chocolate and let me wear his coat all night because it was a cold, snowy evening.

We tried to rent a movie, but couldn’t find anything we wanted. We ended up going home, where we found our children all happy and playing with their babysitter. Once the kids were in bed, we snuggled and watched TV together. It was such a nice, enjoyable evening.

Pictures Today

I love having a digital camera because it gives me the freedom to take hundreds of pictures without feeling guilty about it. I had my camera out several times today… in the morning because I wanted pictures of Jacob on his one week birthday, in the early afternoon when Brenna fixed Maddie’s hair in two little braids and again when Braden and Asher were just being so cute together that I had to take pictures, and in the late afternoon when we all walked to the park and played until dinnertime.

Here’s my sweet, sweet Jacob… at one week old…

A little bit later, Jake was kind enough to wake up so that I could get a few more darling pictures…

I put Jacob back to bed and couldn’t resist taking one more picture as he slept…

Later in the day, Brenna fixed Madalyn’s hair. I love passing the bathroom and seeing the girls giggling together while Maddie stands on the little stool and Brenna fixes her hair. Brenna did a great job with Maddie’s hair and then she fixed her own hair in two neat pony tails…

  

Braden loves Joshua’s football mouth guard, but it’s way too big. It makes me laugh whenever I see him with it in his mouth…

When Asher saw the camera he grinned and said, “Eeeeese!” (This translates into CHEESE.)

  

Braden and Asher are such good buddies. They adore each other. I had to take a few pictures as they giggled together…

We went to the park in the late afternoon. I’d intended to go earlier in the day, but the kids took a long time getting their jobs done. In the end it worked out wonderfully though; Rick woke up just as we were getting ready to leave so he came along with us.

It was a warm day, but I bundled up my little Jacob anyway…

The kids rode bikes and scooters to the park…

  

Asher loved the swings and Brenna enjoyed pushing him…

  

And by then my memory card was full. (I told you I take a lot of pictures.)

It was a nice day…

Getting Out

It feels like I’ve been stuck in the house since September. First I was sick and/or recovering from being sick, then the kids were sick and/or recovering from being sick, and then we had a baby. Other than occasional doctor visits and a few sporting events or activities, we haven’t left the house much. We haven’t even been to the library in the last month and I think I’ve only gone to the grocery store twice during that time.

Yesterday afternoon we decided to get out of the house. I could feel how much I needed it. The kids all had gift cards to spend (a present when Jacob was born) so we decided that spending their gift cards would be a good outing. It would be fairly brief, but also fun for the kids. I was a little worried about taking Jacob out in public (because of all the ugly germs), but I decided that he’d be okay if we kept him covered, wiped the cart down with sanitizing wipes, and washed everyone’s hands after we left the store. I am keeping him home as much as possible, but I can’t completely quarantine our family until spring.

The kids had such a great time looking through the toy section. They were so thrilled with the freedom that gift cards afforded them. It was very exciting for each of them and I loved seeing how happy they were. It was also interesting to watch the way they each selected their toys. I love to see all the unique differences between my sweet children.

Brenna knew what she wanted right away. She’s been wanting a “Fur Real” pet for a while now and the small ones were on sale. She took a few minutes to select the perfect pet- a little white duckling.

I could see the wheels turning inside Joshua’s little brain as he carefully weighed his options and calculated the costs. He’s very logical and analytical and he’s a math whiz as well. He was very quiet and thoughtful as he perused the toys. First he found a foam sword, figured out how much money he had left to spend and then selected a small race car track.

Madalyn was the most indecisive of all the kids. She grabbed so many different items with great enthusiasm. Some were within her price range and others were much more expensive than the amount she had on her gift card. After a long time and after many toys had been selected and returned to the shelf, Maddie finally decided on a small doll that came with a pet bunny and two little baby bunnies. Maddie loves tiny dolls (3-5 inches tall) so this was perfect for her. She was thrilled.

Braden wanted tools. He told me he wanted tools even before we went to the store. While Brenna looked at the pets, Braden reminded me sweetly and persistently that he needed to find the tools. We all went over there next so that he could pick what he wanted. His first choice was the giant $50 tool bench. He’s been talking about the tool bench since his birthday in May, but it was out of his price range today. (He will be getting it for Christmas anyway.) Most of the tool sets were too expensive so I showed him the one he could afford. I wondered if he’d be sad that he couldn’t get the bigger, fancier sets, but he was excited about the one I showed him. When I explained that he had enough money for that one, he responded, “Then that’s the one I love!”

I felt SO energized and refreshed after our little outing. It was so nice to get out of the house! The blue skies and warm sunshine made it even nicer. And, of course, it was so fun to see how happy the kids were as they each selected the perfect toy.

Brenna had choir practice that evening so we took her there. Afterwards we went out to eat as a family at IHOP. We like to celebrate babies at IHOP, usually eating there once or twice during each pregnancy for various milestones. For example, we ate there the day before I was induced with Brenna, the day after we found out I was pregnant with Joshy, the day we found out Maddie was a girl, and so on. Rick even brought me IHOP stuffed french toast in the hospital after I delivered Asher (the cashier, upon learning that his wife had just delivered a baby, sent him home with a little blue bear too!) So it seemed fitting to celebrate our little Jacob’s arrival with a dinner at IHOP. Once again, it was so nice to be out of the house. I ate stuffed french toast- my favorite IHOP dinner.

At home we put Asher and Jacob to bed and put on a movie for the four older kids. Rick and I took a bubble bath together. We just enjoyed talking and spending time together. As we were talking, we heard the kids yelling something. It sounded like they were yelling, “Braden, hurry up!” But then we realized they were actually yelling, “Braden’s throwing up!”

Rick cleaned up the barf while I cleaned up Braden. I think he ate too much at dinner and his tummy couldn’t handle the large amount of food he stuffed into it.

Once Braden was bathed and dressed in clean pajamas and settled in front of the movie again, Rick and snuggled in bed and talked for a while. Then we watched a movie together. After the movie, Rick sat by me while I fell asleep. It was such a nice, relaxing evening… other than the whole vomiting thing, of course. I had such an enjoyable day yesterday!

Today we are taking things slow. I feel SO GOOD, but I don’t want to overdo anything. So I am really, really trying to just pace myself right now, in spite of how good I actually feel. I’ve done three loads of laundry today so our laundry is all caught up. The house is completely tidy, other than the kids’ bedrooms which they are still working on. The kitchen is clean thanks to my handsome husband so all I need to do is unload the dishwasher and put away the pots, pans, and mixing bowls that he washed by hand and left to dry on the counter. I’d like the vacuum this afternoon; the family room especially needs it. The bathrooms are scoured and the garbage has been gathered.

When the three little boys goes down for afternoon naps, I am going to take a shower. I am still in my pajamas because I am waiting to shower before I get dressed. When the jobs are finished and the little boys wake up from their naps, I’d like to take everyone to the park. They could use the playtime  and I want to take advantage of this gorgeous weather before it is gone.

Brenna has gymnastics this afternoon. Rick is going to take her so that he can work out while she practices. Joshua has wrestling practice tonight, just 30 minutes after Brenna finishes gymnastics. Rick will be working so I am going to take all the kids to practice. I’m looking forward to getting out of the house again and to watching Joshua practice.

The rest of this week should be easy and slow-paced. Next week things will get busier because we’re starting homeschool (along with piano lessons and job charts) again and because Joshua has wrestling practice four nights a week beginning next week. So even though I feel like cleaning like crazy and running lots of errands, I am trying to enjoy this slow week while it lasts.

Halloween Fun

Our Halloween has been different this year. We usually “go all out” for a fun, month-long holiday. But this year was much more simple.

With the kids being sick at the end of the month, we didn’t do nearly as many crafts or as much baking as we usually do. The kids did make the cutest little bats, spiders, ghosts and pumpkins, but I was just too busy with sick kids to organize anything more detailed. And, obviously, delivering a baby two days before Halloween impacted the holiday as well. But we still had fun and made good memories.

On Halloween day, Rick and Grandma took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We go there every year and spend the entire day and most of the night. There are just so many things to do there! This year, however, Rick only took the kids for the afternoon. I stayed home with Asher and Jacob. I didn’t want to expose Jake to any germs and we decided that Asher didn’t know what he was missing anyway and would benefit more from a nap. But when I saw the pictures that Rick took, I sort of wished I had gone along. It made me sad that I’d missed it, but I was glad that the kids had so much fun and I knew that it really was better to keep our two-day-old newborn home from such a crowded location.

We had chili for dinner (Rick made it this year). Afterwards the kids made haunted houses as we do every year. This is one of our favorite traditions! The kids had a blast building their little graham cracker houses and decorating them with tons of frosting and candy. We even painted the houses with melted decorators chocolate and the kids really enjoyed that.

For Halloween Brenna was a white pixie fairy, Joshua was a football player (he wore his team pads and jersey and even sported a purple mohawk), Maddie was a pink fairy princess, Braden was a monkey, and Asher was a lion. They were all so darling in their costumes! Asher was so fascinated by his costume. He kept looking at his hands and giggling.

Before Jacob was born I’d debated buying a small costume for him. I never got around to it and I was sad because I really wanted to dress him up for his first Halloween. Back in August I bought a fuzzy fleece jacket for Jacob in size newborn. I bought it because it was cute and warm, but on Halloween I realized that it was brown with little teddy bear ears on the hood. So that became Jacob’s Halloween costume. It was way, way too big on him, but he looked super cute!

Rick took the kids trick or treating this year. Once again, I was so sad to miss out on the fun. I felt great and wanted to go along, but there was no way I was going to take my newborn out into the cold night air. It was actually a pretty warm night, but I felt better keeping him home. So Jacob and I stayed home with Rick and the other kids went trick or treating.

After the kids had filled their buckets with treats and everyone’s ears were cold, they all came home. Everyone stayed up late and watched a kid-friendly Halloween movie together. Tomorrow we are still going to have our traditional caramel apple bar. It’s just too fun to skip! Plus I spent a lot of money on apples and tons of toppings to top them with.

I bought the ingredients I need for some of our favorite Halloween treats- our pumpkin cake, caramel popcorn, devilled eggs (with jack-o-lantern faces), and so on. Tomorrow I might make some treats for everyone to enjoy.

Like I said, it has been a very simple Halloween this year. We didn’t have our annual party and we skipped a lot of our usual traditions. I feel a little sad and guilty about not doing more this year, but I also feel like Halloween was successful under the circumstances. We all still had fun and we made good memories together and that’s the most important part of Halloween (or any holiday) anyway. Plus there has to be balance in all things. This year we had to balance Halloween with the arrival of a new baby and I think we pulled it off.

 

 

A Long Night

Brenna had a gymnastics meet last night. It’s her last meet before the state finals in November. With all the germs in our home we debated about keeping her home, but since she’s shown no signs of being sick we decided to let her go. We figured that if she was in public school, she’d have been going to school all week anyway. I took her because I am still healthy as well, other than the cough that has lingered since I was sick with pneumonia at the beginning of the month. Rick stayed home with everyone else.

I hate to admit it, but I don’t remember a lot about her meet. Contractions started sometime near the beginning of the meet and were intense from the get go. The gym felt suffocating and hot, the benches were rock hard and my contractions were painful. I did manage to get Brenna’s events on video, but I had a hard time paying attention and cheering.

My friend was very concerned about the contractions. She’s a midwife and kept asking if I was really okay. She said that she’s seen many women in labor and many women not in labor and that I looked like I was in labor. I told  her that I wasn’t even sure how far apart they were and she responded that she’d been timing them and they were pretty close together.

The drive home was difficult as it was hard to concentrate. Contractions got closer together, I felt lots of pressure, and my back was killing me. I am glad we made it home safely because it was difficult to concentrate on the road.

Rick was really concerned when we got home. As contractions came 3-5 minutes apart, he was sure we’d have a baby that night. I was not so sure. I’d like to say that it was mother’s intuition, but it also could have just been major denial on my part!

With sick kids, we knew there was no one available to watch our children. I am sure there would have been some generous soul willing to risk their own health by staying with the kids, but neither of us felt comfortable asking anyone to do that. Instead, Rick was literally ready to call a taxi and send me to the hospital alone, which I was completely unwilling to do. I have a friend who is a doula so we also toyed with the idea of calling her. Then Rick could be home with the kids and I wouldn’t have to be alone at the hospital. We also decided that maybe someone would be willing to stay with our sick kids once they were all in bed, minimizing their exposure to the swine flu. It was stressful as we tried to discuss options in between contractions… while I still maintained “this can’t really be it” denial.

I am full-term now so this baby can safely come at any time. If our kids weren’t sick, this would have been an exciting time. I always love that “is this really it?” moment before we decide to go to the hospital.

But with sick kids, I felt so betrayed by my body. I really wanted another few days (preferably a week) before I went into labor, so that the kids could have a chance to really get over this bug and not be contagious anymore. I kept telling myself that I usually have a few nights of hard contractions before real labor starts and that that was all that was happening this time. But it was still hard not to worry.

After several hours, contractions began to space out a little and by midnight I was finally able to sleep. I woke up at 2am with another contraction. I don’t know how regularly they came, just that I got woken many times in the early morning hours by painful contractions.

We are taking it very, very easy today. I am feeling really queasy, but haven’t been having contractions. I am hoping that if we don’t do much of anything today, that they won’t start up again. I just need a little more time until the kids are well again.

We were told that the kids wouldn’t be contagious after 24-48 hours of being fever-free. Asher didn’t run a fever yesterday and he hasn’t so far today so he’s nearing the end of that window. Braden ran a fever all day yesterday, but feels cool this morning so I am officially starting my 48-hour countdown for him. Josh hasn’t had a fever since Tuesday and the girls still are fine (though Maddie claims that she, quote, ”will be getting sick very soon.”) 

So really, I just need a few more days before the kids won’t be contagious (as long as no one else gets sick). If I can make it through Wednesday, Rick’s mom has time off work (Wednesday through Saturday) and could come stay with the kids.

I am expecting a few more long nights because I do tend to have several nights of contractions before real labor starts. I still have before-baby-comes projects that I wanted to finish, but I’d rather take it easy. I’m getting the car seat cleaned up and washed and I am going to continue with washing and disinfecting walls and doorknobs and railings. Those projects are really important, but the rest of my list can wait. Once the kids are better, this baby can come whenever he wants to, and I can scramble to get projects done before he does. But until then, no more funny business!

Confirmed H1N1

Asher got sick a week ago, running high fevers, coughing, and in general just acting miserable. I’d never seen him so sick. On Friday I took him the pediatrician. His oxygen was a little low at 92%, but his lungs sounded nice and clear. I was told that he did NOT have RSV, swine flu, or pneumonia and that we were just dealing with a virus. I was glad that nothing serious was going on, but still worried about how lethargic and miserable Asher was.

By Monday Asher was still running a fever (and had been for nearly a week straight) so I took him in again. We saw a different pediatrician, who said that she was pretty sure Ash DID have swine flu. His oxygen was still in the low 90’s, but his lungs still sounded clear. She recommended a swab to test for H1N1. At least then we’d know what we were dealing with.

So off we went the hospital. Asher was miserable. He cried in my arms while we waiting. He’s had the same cry all week, the hoarse, pitiful, heart-breaking, barely audible cry of a very sick little boy. As his caregiver I had to wear a mask, and found that I could barely breathe behind it.

Finally, it was his turn to be swabbed. The respiratory therapist collecting the sample looked like something out of a sci-fi movie; she was decked out in head to toe scrubs, rubber gloves, and a sealed hood and face mask that was connected to a tank on her back (oxygen I’m guessing). I was very disturbed, however, when I learned that the bed sheets were NOT being changed between patients. When I addressed this concern, the therapist said that everyone who was coming in was sick and suspected of having swine flu. But it seemed logical to me that they might have other illnesses as well (the boy who went right before us had pink eye and strep throat, his mom told me in the waiting room) and I was upset that I was forced to expose my already very ill child to MORE germs.

The swab was quick, but Asher hated it anyway. We’ve waited for results since then. We were supposed to hear within 24 hours, but there were so many H1N1 tests going out that the lab was backed up. Tonight, just as I was writing a blog post about how frustrating it is to wait for test results, I got a call from the pediatrician.

Asher does indeed have H1N1. I feel so bad for the little guy, as he is still so sick and miserable. The ped said he should be on the “tail end” of this though and that he should be seen again if he is not feeling better within the next few days. We are to continue to watch his breathing and make sure he doesn’t get dehydrated. His fever has broken finally and he’s eaten a little bit today so hopefully he’ll turn the corner soon. 

Joshua and Braden have been running fevers and coughing since Sunday so the pediatrician said to assume that they also have swine flu. Joshua is acting fine, which is typical for him when he’s sick or injured. It takes a lot to slow him down. In fact, I think I’ve only seen him respond poorly to an illness once in his entire life, and that time it was so serious that it required a week in the hospital and a risky surgery.

Braden is more irritable than Josh. He’s obviously not feeling well, but he’s still eating and drinking and playing quietly. He’s alert and seems okay overall.

Rick was sick yesterday, but is already feeling better. Policy at work requires him to stay home for two days though, now that we have a confirmed H1N1 case in the house and that he has shown symptoms for it. Both of the girls are still fine so I am hoping they stay that way.

My OB was sure I had swine flu a few weeks ago when I was so miserably sick. I was never tested for it, but she was so positive that I had it that she treated me with Tamiflu. So I should be immune to this.

Now I just need to get my family healthy again… and I need to NOT go into labor until they all ARE healthy. I am praying that this baby is not born until everyone in the house is well again. It’s scary enough to have a baby at the beginning of such a nasty flu season, but it would be even worse to bring that infant home from the hospital to a house filled with swine flu!

On the plus side, it is such an enormous blessing that everyone got sick right BEFORE this baby was born instead of right AFTER! I can’t imagine having a fragile newborn, recovering from delivery, dealing with such sick kids, worrying so much about Ash, juggling doctor visits with and a newborn, and, most of all, having that tiny baby exposed to all this. I am glad that all this has happened before he was born. Now we just need to get over it all before he does come!

Spotless

I just heard Rick ask the kids if the family room was spotless. When they replied that it was, Rick responded, “Spotless enough that Dad would pass it off? Or spotless enough that Mom would pass it off?” It made me chuckle out loud because there can be quite a difference between our two versions of spotless!