Today I took the kids (except for Kate who is busy earning *student service hours* by helping run a community flea market of some type) to a Boy Scout outdoor activities day...
Imagine acorns falling from 75 foot tall trees while you're standing in a dusty clearing watching your kids try to hit an archery target 15 feet away from them... In 85 degree heat and plenty of humidity! Now imagine your toddler trying her hardest to enter the shooting range which was decorated in part by some animal targets- like deer and bears. It was... challenging. The kids hit the targets at least, I think. Not sure if Luke did, but at least he tried! And he'll earn an "archery belt loop" to add to his Cub Scouts uniform...
After archery, we trekked down a rather long path which included several bridges and steep steps to arrive at a little pond where there was fishing, kayaking, canoeing... Josie was pretty much at the end of her rope, with it being nap time and there being nothing for her to do. But the kids were able to fish long enough for Luke to nearly snag several people with his hook. When the hook was actually in the pond, he almost caught some algae. Almost, but not quite. Isabel and Steven managed to entangle their lines AND twist the tangled mess in the only branch that was hanging over the fishing area. The helpers had to cut the lines to free the fishing poles... Anyway, that was fishing. And we were not able to make it to canoeing or kayaking because of the time it would take to walk over to that area, not to mention the fact that Josie wouldn't be able to do anything over there either.
So although the kids were disappointed, I give myself an "A" for even attempting anything like this!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A day in the life of...
So yesterday was a busy, never ending type of a day. We started out alright, getting everyone off to school on time. Later on in the morning, I needed to take Josie to Costco. We have to buy milk in bulk- 5 gallons or more at a time! And that doesn't even last a week, but it's pretty much all the fridge will hold at once. On the way to Costco, I stopped by the Derm office to clear up a billing error. While at Costco, I got a phone call from the school nurse. I get a lot of calls from the school nurse. Even before Steven was a student, I got a lot of calls. My kids just seem to love going in to see the nurse. This time it was Luke. He was bleeding quite steadily from his ear, but didn't seem to be in any pain, and so what would I like to do?
Hmmmmm, too bad the Doctor was out of the state at the moment.
I thought that bleeding steadily from an ear with no complaint of pain or trauma probably had to do with his ear tubes, and that if he's not able to be in school because of the bleeding, he should at least go to see a doctor about it. If Mac and his otoscope were home I just would have waited for the dawkter to make that call...
Anyway, considering all this while standing in the bread aisle of Costco, I did what any good, loving, attentive mother would do: I finished shopping (well, at least I only bought the milk and one other item!), I strapped my non-compliant, screaming 2 year old in her car seat, and I headed home to put the milk away...
After that important work was done, Josie and I continued on to the school to check out the situation. Luke's ear had mostly stopped bleeding, but there was a lot of dried blood. I got in touch with Mac, who thought it was probably nothing that needed to be seen urgently. I decided I didn't like his analysis, and so I went ahead and called the peds nurse, and when she told me the only urgent care appointments available were all the way in the city (forget that!), I just went ahead and called the ENT clinic. Even though Mac hasn't physically worked there in nearly a year, I think they still remember him! A little... Enough to walk us in "whenever we got there".
So, after a quick 45 minute power nap for the baby, Luke, Josie and I headed out to the clinic. The clinic is about a 30 minute trek from our house- without traffic. Luke ended up needing to have the dried blood suctioned out of his ear, and some drops applied to help stop the bleeding, but ultimately he's fine. He'll use the ear drops for a few days, and the tube will probably be coming out shortly, but it's not a big deal... He would've needed to be seen by the ENTs sooner or later to get all the blood suctioned out, so it's better that I just brought him in. Had we gone to the peds (like Mac advised), the pediatrician would have just referred us to ENT. Always better to go to the front of the line when you can, right?
While all this was happening, Kate came home from school, followed by Steven and Isabel. Kate made arrangements to get a ride to her swim practice. As I drove up with Luke and Josie, Kate was leaving for swimming, 15 minutes late already. Sigh.
It was now time for the kids to do their homework, finish reading, and practice their instruments (I have no idea how to help Izzy with the trombone- how do you make different tones? How does it work?). After a rather loud twenty minutes or so, we were off to pick up Kate from swim practice, then back home to make dinner, then Kate went off to soccer practice in the park by our house, then...
Ahhh, the day was almost done. I got Josie's bath going, and she was almost done with it when I remembered...
The Cub Scouts pack meeting. Sigh. Commence the race to get out of the bath and dressed. Of course the boys' uniforms weren't ready yet... So, we showed up about 10 minutes late to the meeting, looking a bit bedraggled and unprepared. Better than nothing, I suppose.
By the time the meeting was done, Kate had returned home from soccer, and finally, after another hour or so, everyone was asleep.
It seems like this week has been like this almost every day. It's definitely not easy when Mac is gone! In just over one month he should be heading back home. I think we'll make it...
Hmmmmm, too bad the Doctor was out of the state at the moment.
I thought that bleeding steadily from an ear with no complaint of pain or trauma probably had to do with his ear tubes, and that if he's not able to be in school because of the bleeding, he should at least go to see a doctor about it. If Mac and his otoscope were home I just would have waited for the dawkter to make that call...
Anyway, considering all this while standing in the bread aisle of Costco, I did what any good, loving, attentive mother would do: I finished shopping (well, at least I only bought the milk and one other item!), I strapped my non-compliant, screaming 2 year old in her car seat, and I headed home to put the milk away...
After that important work was done, Josie and I continued on to the school to check out the situation. Luke's ear had mostly stopped bleeding, but there was a lot of dried blood. I got in touch with Mac, who thought it was probably nothing that needed to be seen urgently. I decided I didn't like his analysis, and so I went ahead and called the peds nurse, and when she told me the only urgent care appointments available were all the way in the city (forget that!), I just went ahead and called the ENT clinic. Even though Mac hasn't physically worked there in nearly a year, I think they still remember him! A little... Enough to walk us in "whenever we got there".
So, after a quick 45 minute power nap for the baby, Luke, Josie and I headed out to the clinic. The clinic is about a 30 minute trek from our house- without traffic. Luke ended up needing to have the dried blood suctioned out of his ear, and some drops applied to help stop the bleeding, but ultimately he's fine. He'll use the ear drops for a few days, and the tube will probably be coming out shortly, but it's not a big deal... He would've needed to be seen by the ENTs sooner or later to get all the blood suctioned out, so it's better that I just brought him in. Had we gone to the peds (like Mac advised), the pediatrician would have just referred us to ENT. Always better to go to the front of the line when you can, right?
While all this was happening, Kate came home from school, followed by Steven and Isabel. Kate made arrangements to get a ride to her swim practice. As I drove up with Luke and Josie, Kate was leaving for swimming, 15 minutes late already. Sigh.
It was now time for the kids to do their homework, finish reading, and practice their instruments (I have no idea how to help Izzy with the trombone- how do you make different tones? How does it work?). After a rather loud twenty minutes or so, we were off to pick up Kate from swim practice, then back home to make dinner, then Kate went off to soccer practice in the park by our house, then...
Ahhh, the day was almost done. I got Josie's bath going, and she was almost done with it when I remembered...
The Cub Scouts pack meeting. Sigh. Commence the race to get out of the bath and dressed. Of course the boys' uniforms weren't ready yet... So, we showed up about 10 minutes late to the meeting, looking a bit bedraggled and unprepared. Better than nothing, I suppose.
By the time the meeting was done, Kate had returned home from soccer, and finally, after another hour or so, everyone was asleep.
It seems like this week has been like this almost every day. It's definitely not easy when Mac is gone! In just over one month he should be heading back home. I think we'll make it...
Friday, September 17, 2010
Back to School Night
Last night I ran around the elementary school trying to fit in visits to the 3 kids' classrooms during the 2 scheduled time slots... The back to school meetings are tough for just one parent! At least Kate was able to stay home and babysit. She got Luke and Izzy to bed before I even came home! Priceless...
I met the teachers again, and talked about some homework assignments, and a big field trip the twins have coming up. It was hectic, but it's done. Luke has the same teacher the twins had for first grade. They really loved her a lot, and I'm hoping Luke will too! He is quite shy in school. Once he comes out of his shell, though, look out! His personality just blows the shell to smithereens... And within an hour you are kind of wishing he'd crawl back in... Just for a few minutes, so you can have a little bit of quiet.
Luke is working hard on learning to read. The school really expects quite a lot out of them. I have to remind myself that Kate, who always scores exceedingly well on the standardized reading exams, didn't start reading independently until well into first grade. By second grade, she was reading at a sixth grade level. Luke just isn't quite ready yet. He enjoys listening to stories, though, as evidenced by the fact that he sneaks out of his room and sits on the stairs every night to listen as I read The Chronicles of Narnia series to the twins... Nonetheless, reading is a big deal here to the school system, so Luke, to his dismay, has to struggle through the *I can read* books as best as he can...
Now that back to school meetings are done, we can relax into our regular weekly routine, dominated by sports practices and scouting meetings. We will be busy, but at least it should be a fairly constant busy... Which means eventually we'll fall into some type of routine. We always do.
Mac is finishing his conference today, and will return to Houston for another 42 days or so before he returns back home. This has been a very long long time apart for us all! He does so much stuff around the house. Even if he's not home for dinner every night, it still is tremendously helpful to have an adult in the house. The kids miss him a lot. Even Kate! But she'll never admit it...
In a bit of good news, I took the kids to their dental appointments, and the dentist didn't think Steven or Izzy would need braces! This means they are free to play whatever instrument in band that they choose, except for Violin. Because I don't think I could handle that. Or drums... Are drums even an instrument?
So, what did they choose?
Steven chose... The Clarinet
And Isabel never wavered once-- she chose:
The Trombone!
Should be delightful.
I met the teachers again, and talked about some homework assignments, and a big field trip the twins have coming up. It was hectic, but it's done. Luke has the same teacher the twins had for first grade. They really loved her a lot, and I'm hoping Luke will too! He is quite shy in school. Once he comes out of his shell, though, look out! His personality just blows the shell to smithereens... And within an hour you are kind of wishing he'd crawl back in... Just for a few minutes, so you can have a little bit of quiet.
Luke is working hard on learning to read. The school really expects quite a lot out of them. I have to remind myself that Kate, who always scores exceedingly well on the standardized reading exams, didn't start reading independently until well into first grade. By second grade, she was reading at a sixth grade level. Luke just isn't quite ready yet. He enjoys listening to stories, though, as evidenced by the fact that he sneaks out of his room and sits on the stairs every night to listen as I read The Chronicles of Narnia series to the twins... Nonetheless, reading is a big deal here to the school system, so Luke, to his dismay, has to struggle through the *I can read* books as best as he can...
Now that back to school meetings are done, we can relax into our regular weekly routine, dominated by sports practices and scouting meetings. We will be busy, but at least it should be a fairly constant busy... Which means eventually we'll fall into some type of routine. We always do.
Mac is finishing his conference today, and will return to Houston for another 42 days or so before he returns back home. This has been a very long long time apart for us all! He does so much stuff around the house. Even if he's not home for dinner every night, it still is tremendously helpful to have an adult in the house. The kids miss him a lot. Even Kate! But she'll never admit it...
In a bit of good news, I took the kids to their dental appointments, and the dentist didn't think Steven or Izzy would need braces! This means they are free to play whatever instrument in band that they choose, except for Violin. Because I don't think I could handle that. Or drums... Are drums even an instrument?
So, what did they choose?
Steven chose... The Clarinet
And Isabel never wavered once-- she chose:
The Trombone!
Should be delightful.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Birth of a Blog...
Hello!
This is my first blog post; hopefully, this blog will serve as a tool by which I can communicate better with all my extended family while keeping some type of a journal of our daily life for myself. I plan to post pictures, clever little anecdotes, and charming stories about life in general. If at times I get sucked into the toilet bowl whirlpool that is the monotony of the day to day, so be it...
For now, what are we up to?
School is back in session, and going strong. After many many days off for this or that (primaries, Rosh Hashanah, Labor Day, etc., etc.) the kids are FINALLY "in school". This means we have homework, and a schedule to follow.
Sports have not begun full force yet. But they will. Next week we will have about 2 activities every afternoon. It should be exciting, especially since Mac is not able to help with anything! Mac has been in Houston since the end of June for a medical rotation at the big cancer center there. He is not enjoying his time away from home (but he is getting a chance to catch up on studying). He's learning a lot, I guess, and has been able to do some *cool surgeries*, but... He is missing out on a lot... And he knows it...
Kate has started high school. This is a big transition. After 2.5 weeks, she is happy to have people she can talk to in all her classes. She is making friends slowly, but really didn't know many people before she started this school. It's in a different district than her middle school was. She is taking some challenging classes, but overall the most hated of classes is Algebra 2, and the most beloved is Photography. The level of her English class is much less challenging than her magnet English last year, but I suppose that's not surprising.
Isabel, the older twin, is in 4th grade and enjoying it so far. She still enjoys reading and drawing, and I'm wondering what books she'll love most of all at the end of this year? She is starting in a new Girl Scouts Troop this year. They have a kayaking outing later this month. I hope she's able to go! She loves outdoor activities, and didn't hesitate when I asked if she wanted to go...
Steven, the younger twin, is in 4th grade as well. He doesn't give me many details about school- but he says it's fine. His diabetes is OK. He has lots of high readings these days. It's just the way it is, I guess. At school he's less active than at home, so his blood glucose is generally higher. He had allergy testing last week, and was very positive for various allergens. We'll most likely start him on a course of Allergy Shots. We really do need another activity to fit into our weekly schedule...
Luke is starting first grade. He is still very shy, but certainly has a will of his own. He's kind of like a little tyrant here at home. He is digging in his heals and refusing to learn to read. It's frustrating for all concerned! Luke will be starting flag football later on this month. I wonder if he'll like it? I wonder if he'll restrain himself from tackling other kids? It is FLAG football after all. He is missing the rough-housing he used to be able to do with Daddy. Steven doesn't rough-house. Josie probably would, but she's too little still...
Josie is... CUTE CUTE CUTE. She knows it too. She says *I cute*. And then she smirks a little smile and nods her head up and down while raising her eyebrows. She is in a little gymnastics class which is a real kick. She's the only student! There are not too many Stay at Home Moms around here, and apparently even fewer who are willing to take their toddlers to gymnastics! Anyway, Josie gets the run of the place. She can jump on trampolines to her heart's content. And no worries about waiting for other kids to have their turn! She seems to enjoy the obstacle courses for now.
I am trying to keep my sanity while setting the house in order... Delivering everyone to their after-school activities on time and in appropriate outfits is daunting. This week is the *school meetings week* so my 14 year old babysitter (that would be Kate) has been getting some extra hours in watching the sibs while I go meet and greet various people. Right now Steven and Isabel are planning on joining the instrumental music program. Steven wants to play the clarinet and Izzy wants to play the trombone. Now I have to figure out when they will practice!
Mac will be back at the end of October, hopefully in time for Halloween. It can't come soon enough!
This is my first blog post; hopefully, this blog will serve as a tool by which I can communicate better with all my extended family while keeping some type of a journal of our daily life for myself. I plan to post pictures, clever little anecdotes, and charming stories about life in general. If at times I get sucked into the toilet bowl whirlpool that is the monotony of the day to day, so be it...
For now, what are we up to?
School is back in session, and going strong. After many many days off for this or that (primaries, Rosh Hashanah, Labor Day, etc., etc.) the kids are FINALLY "in school". This means we have homework, and a schedule to follow.
Sports have not begun full force yet. But they will. Next week we will have about 2 activities every afternoon. It should be exciting, especially since Mac is not able to help with anything! Mac has been in Houston since the end of June for a medical rotation at the big cancer center there. He is not enjoying his time away from home (but he is getting a chance to catch up on studying). He's learning a lot, I guess, and has been able to do some *cool surgeries*, but... He is missing out on a lot... And he knows it...
Kate has started high school. This is a big transition. After 2.5 weeks, she is happy to have people she can talk to in all her classes. She is making friends slowly, but really didn't know many people before she started this school. It's in a different district than her middle school was. She is taking some challenging classes, but overall the most hated of classes is Algebra 2, and the most beloved is Photography. The level of her English class is much less challenging than her magnet English last year, but I suppose that's not surprising.
Isabel, the older twin, is in 4th grade and enjoying it so far. She still enjoys reading and drawing, and I'm wondering what books she'll love most of all at the end of this year? She is starting in a new Girl Scouts Troop this year. They have a kayaking outing later this month. I hope she's able to go! She loves outdoor activities, and didn't hesitate when I asked if she wanted to go...
Steven, the younger twin, is in 4th grade as well. He doesn't give me many details about school- but he says it's fine. His diabetes is OK. He has lots of high readings these days. It's just the way it is, I guess. At school he's less active than at home, so his blood glucose is generally higher. He had allergy testing last week, and was very positive for various allergens. We'll most likely start him on a course of Allergy Shots. We really do need another activity to fit into our weekly schedule...
Luke is starting first grade. He is still very shy, but certainly has a will of his own. He's kind of like a little tyrant here at home. He is digging in his heals and refusing to learn to read. It's frustrating for all concerned! Luke will be starting flag football later on this month. I wonder if he'll like it? I wonder if he'll restrain himself from tackling other kids? It is FLAG football after all. He is missing the rough-housing he used to be able to do with Daddy. Steven doesn't rough-house. Josie probably would, but she's too little still...
Josie is... CUTE CUTE CUTE. She knows it too. She says *I cute*. And then she smirks a little smile and nods her head up and down while raising her eyebrows. She is in a little gymnastics class which is a real kick. She's the only student! There are not too many Stay at Home Moms around here, and apparently even fewer who are willing to take their toddlers to gymnastics! Anyway, Josie gets the run of the place. She can jump on trampolines to her heart's content. And no worries about waiting for other kids to have their turn! She seems to enjoy the obstacle courses for now.
I am trying to keep my sanity while setting the house in order... Delivering everyone to their after-school activities on time and in appropriate outfits is daunting. This week is the *school meetings week* so my 14 year old babysitter (that would be Kate) has been getting some extra hours in watching the sibs while I go meet and greet various people. Right now Steven and Isabel are planning on joining the instrumental music program. Steven wants to play the clarinet and Izzy wants to play the trombone. Now I have to figure out when they will practice!
Mac will be back at the end of October, hopefully in time for Halloween. It can't come soon enough!
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