TheHenrichsens.com

Today is my official due date. Of course, that doesn’t mean anything considering all of my other babies have been 1-2 days overdue everytime. Yesterday was pretty miserable and I was feeling pretty mopey. Last week the doctor said they wouldn’t induce me until I reached 42 weeks or until the baby was in distress. And I immediately lost hope in ever having this baby. All of my other doctors have scheduled my induction for just a few days after my due date and that seems to be all I need to send me into labor. But the thought of having to wait 2 more weeks to be induced was almost more than I could bear. So I was moping and feeling very sorry for myself. Lucky for me, Mom came over and bought me pizza and Mark listened while I cried like a baby and I had a nap on the couch and eventually felt much better and decided I could make it two more weeks if I absolutely had to.

Anyway, then I saw the doctor and it doesn’t look like it will be anything near two more weeks. I’m dilated to a three, he stripped my membranes and scheduled to induce me on October 4th. So, merrily, there is an end in sight. Of course, as we waited for him to schedule my induction I started having some severe anxiety over going into labor and all the work that comes with having a new baby and was about ready to say, “Nevermind. . . I’ll wait!” But I didn’t and for now we’re hoping we’ll have a baby as soon as tomorrow, if everything goes as usual. So here’s to an end in sight and a healthy baby and a painless labor. Well. . . at least a healthy baby and an end in sight. I’ll deal with the labor part when it gets here.

When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth which we ignore; childhood is not preparation for life, childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live, a child is living. The child is constantly confronted with the nagging question, “What are you going to be?” Courageous would be the youngster who, looking the adult squarely in the face, would say, “I’m not going to be anything. I already am!” We adults would be shocked by such an insolent remark, for we have forgotten, if indeed we ever knew, that a child is an active participating, and contributing member of society from the time he is born. Childhood isn’t a time when he is molded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation. How much heartache we would save ourselves if we would recognize the child as a partner with adults in the process of living, rather than always viewing him as an apprentice. How much we would teach each other. . . adults with the experience and children with the freshness. How full both our lives could be. A little child may not lead us, but at least we ought to discuss the trip with him; for after all, life is his and her journey too. (Professor T. Ripaldi)

Just a cute pic of Denver, watching TV. What you can’t see is that the rest of him is hidden in a big box he and Noah had been playing in. Of course, when “Dora the Explorer” came on, he peeked his head out so he could watch.

Came across this really easy, very delicious recipe for dinner. Especially great for upcoming Fall weather. And the kids liked it too. . . all of them! Hurray!

1 package cornbread/muffin mix
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 c. fully cooked ham, cubed

Prepare cornbread according to package directions and bake. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, mustard, and salt until smooth. Add milk. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Add ham and heat through. Cut corn bread into squares; top with creamed ham.

Today I took the boys to run a few errands. I had to get some library books and some groceries for preschool. This week we’re talking about the five senses. So, we stopped at the store for some cornstarch (for making “Goop”) and some coffee beans, lemons and koolaid (for sniffing.) Anyway, while we were standing by the coffee and I was trying to find some plain old coffee beans (which is very difficult), Noah and Denver were chatting in the cart. And Noah said to Denver very matter of factly, “Denver, we don’t drink coffee. . . . It smells really good, but we don’t drink coffee.” Noah must be like me–I love the smell, love the taste, love everything about coffee–it’s so tempting. And yet, I don’t drink it.

Then tonight for FHE we were playing a game in “The Friend” called Journey to the Temple. Anyway, Denver drew his number and had to answer a question about how he can choose good books and movies and television shows. His response: “Well. . .guess what. You get construction books and farm books.” Afterall, what could be better to read than a book about construction trucks, right? Right. He got to move ahead his two spaces for that answer.

We were certain it was a boy. But now we know for sure. . . it’s a girl! How do we know? Well. . .this morning after we took the boys up to the school for a little bike ride, I took Noah and Denver with me to check on Lucky. Denver ran ahead and returned in a panic because he couldn’t find Lucky. We rushed over to the coop and Denver was right, she wasn’t there. And she didn’t hop out of her nesting box like she usually does. My immediate thought was, Oh no! She’s dead. Then Noah said, “I think she’s laying an egg.” I opened her nesting box and we peered in together and sure enough–there was an egg! Noah ran like lightning to get Daddy and all I could do was stare at the perfect little egg sitting right there in our chicken coop. After watching Lucky for a few minutes I came to the conclusion that she must be in the process of laying another egg. She was staying very still and panting and seemed really uncomfortable. I could tell she was exhausted because she kept falling asleep, but she wouldn’t rest her bottom and relax. I could have sat out there all day watching and waiting. But Stake Conference called and I had to hurry if I was going to get a shower. As soon as we got home Hunter and I ran over to her cage to see if we had two eggs and sure enough–we had two. We let Lucky out to play, which she finally seemed happy to do, and gathered up her eggs. Two perfect, little eggs. I just went out to tuck her in for the night and she had already returned herself to the coop. She was sitting on the roof, waiting to be let in. I held her for a minute and then locked her up. She immediately went into her nesting box,laid down and went to sleep.

Now up until today I would have told you that hatching and raising chickens was more trouble than I ever bargained for. First Hero–hatching paralyzed and dying. Then Jack-Jack–hurting his leg and dying, slowly. Wilbur–hatching her and washing her and coccidosis and the wild animal attack, was almost more than I could bear. And finally Lucky–cock-a-doodle-do-ing in our backyard at six in the morning, waking all the neighbors. I was so ready to give in and give up. But today–just those two little eggs has made it all worth it. That chicken loves me. She comes when I call her. She practically purrs when I hold her. She doesn’t crow in the morning anymore. And she lays me little tiny eggs. Even tonight, as Denver counted her six piles of poop that she left on our back porch, I thought, “Man, I love this little chicken of mine, right down to her piles of poop.” The cycle is complete–now I just have to figure out how to get her to hatch a few of her own chics minus the rooster. Any suggestions?

P.S. The two little eggs are Lucky’s and the large egg is a store bought egg–just for comparison.

More work today. Only two weeks to go and we’re trying like mad to get our big projects done before Junior takes priority. Uncle Cliff called last night and offered to help us with our projects, for which we are truly grateful. He and Mark pulled out all of our food storage buckets (which are many thanks to several families dumping their wheat and beans on us before leaving the state) and sprayed for bugs. The freezer fix-it man came and told us our compressor needs replaced. The good news is–it’s under warranty and we won’t have to pay a cent for the new one. The bad news is–it’ll be another week before they get the part. So, we threw away a lot of ice cream and meat and saved as many of my casseroles and frozen meals as we could. If we’re lucky, RCWilley will reimburse us for the lost food, since an extended warranty was purchased with the freezer. Mark worked hard on vacuuming out the basement and tidying things up down there. And I folded laundry and pulled out baby necessities (like a carseat) and cleaned bathrooms and the toy room. The boys played happily for the most part and helped out occassionally with chores, like looking for bugs and tossing toys in various buckets. Mark went to the Stake Priesthood meeting. Our neighborhood crossing guard’s children stopped by to play Nintendo with Hunter and Noah. And our neighbor Elizabeth (who asked if she could invite herself to dinner a week ago) came over with some pizza to share and watched “Calendar Girls” with us. Another busy Saturday–hopefully only two more to go till this baby gets here.

Last week we started preschool at home. We don’t do it at any specific time of the day: sometimes it’s first thing in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. Sometimes we’re dressed, sometimes we’re in our pajamas. Sometimes we spend two hours on preschool, sometimes half an hour. But we do it almost every day and Noah is in heaven. I hope I can keep up with it, with the arrival of number four, but for now we’ve all been enjoying the time together. Anyway, last week we made a “Book About Me” and talked about ourselves and our family and all of our favorite things and worked on memorizing our phone number and address. The boys toted the books everywhere we went for a few days and loved showing them to anyone that would look. This week we talked about names and worked on spelling and writing our first and last names. We played “Name Bingo” and shaped our names with playdough and of course made the name boards I blogged earlier. I’m also working on getting Noah to recognize the alphabet in lowercase (and Denver, the letters in Uppercase) and so far it’s going very well. This next week we’re talking about the Five Senses and then we’re talking about Feelings. I suppose this is a month all about ourselves. Then we’ll move onto Autumn and Apples and of course, Halloween come the month of October. I still don’t know how all you homeschoolers do it, especially with more than one child at different levels. So much work is required. But I suppose it all pays off–especially with Noah. He sure does love preschool time and it’s nice to finally be doing something right by him.

Anyway, I found a couple of great books in the process of teaching preschool and thought I’d share a few. My favorite of the week (and one I’m adding to my wishlist) is I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun. He has also written I Love My Mommy, but I haven’t read that one yet. If it’s anything like the first, I’m sure it’s great. Todd Parr writes a bunch of great books, but my favorite was It’s Okay To Be Different, another one I want to add to my wishlist. And along the same theme is Whoever You Are by Mem Fox. Two great books about homes that the boys really liked are Whose House? by Barbara Seuling and Castles, Caves and Honeycombs by Linda Ashman. Happy reading! Happy teaching! Happy learning!

It’s funny the things you find when you’re cleaning out the basement. Mark has stored several boxes of his belongings down there ever since we moved in. I suppose starting a new job and having a new baby and an extra needy wife makes it difficult to get to unpacking your own belongings. Anyway, Mark recently found a file folder full of his music and high school essays. Among them was this story. He asked me to read it and after I did I decided it deserved more attention than the dust it had been collecting in the basement. So, if you have a few minutes to spare, take a look and see what you think. Just one more talent to add to Mark’s list of amazing talents and abilities. I still wonder how I ever got so lucky to be married to this man. I love you Mark.