Thursday, February 28, 2008
So I gave the twins some spaghetti tonight for dinner and clearly, Justus had no idea what he was supposed to do with it.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
I'll never understand why schools out here have a winter recess because I personally think it's better to be in school when it's wet and cold and dreary rather than when it's sunshiney and warm and there's so much playing to be done outside. But the longer I live the more I find that my opinion really doesn't matter much and what I think is best most certainly isn't what the Public School System thinks is best. So the kids stayed home from school all of last week and Mark and I scrambled to keep up with them and the trail of destruction they left behind them. Mostly we lazed around in our pajamas all day and spent too much time watching TV and playing Nintendo. Rich people go on vacation to places like Florida and Cancun for the week, but people like us, we just stick around with nothing much to do. That said, we did manage a little bit of fun and entertainment during the week. Here's our top ten list:
1. Swimming at the YMCA
2. Seeing Mr. Noyes (the boys' music teacher) at the YMCA
3. The frequent visitation of CT's bright green Monk Parakeets (a rare sight to behold)
4. Witnessing the lunar eclipse
5. The snow, finally, and trying out the new sleds we bought in Ohio in the hopes of a white Christmas
6. Spending an afternoon with Derek (the boys' piano teacher), playing Zelda
7. Going to see Spiderwick
8. Family Home Evening with the McCurdy's and playing Buddy Tag
9. Lazy mornings
10. No homework and no piano practice
  
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This week is definitely much more difficult than the last time Mark went away. The kids are crazier and I'm much more tired and I'm having a really hard time staying on top of things. Last night when Mark called to see how my day went I fell asleep with him still on the phone. I'm that tired. And I'm frustrated and exhausted and I just want him to come home. Anyway if you've noticed the time, it's one in the morning. Not my usual blogging time. I woke up to what sounded like Hunter having a seizure. Nothing pulls you out of your sleep faster than a sound like that. Luckily, it wasn't Hunter. Just someone coughing or snoring. But I was awake at that point and decided I'd better go check his blood since I was too tired to do it earlier. So as I stood there getting ready to stab his little finger, Hunter smiled. In his sleep. The sweetest, most dreamiest little smile I think I've ever seen. And right at that very moment it seemed like the rest of the week's crud evaporated. I'm still tired. I'm still dreading the next three days of flying solo. I'm still debating keeping the kids home from school and curling up in a ball in my bed and denying that the sun is up and I'm in charge. But somehow that little smile of Hunter's makes me feel like despite the terrible job I think I might be doing manning this ship alone, I'm not doing everything wrong. And that's a real good thing to know.
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Monday, February 25, 2008
Click Here
Justus is in the red and Jericho is in the stripes. . . just in case you were wondering.
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Friday, February 22, 2008
Last week when I was out shoveling snow I mentioned to our neighbor that I'd like it if it would just snow once, a good snow. The kind you can build a snowman with. Seems like all we've had this year is snow followed by rain which equals a nice big sheet of ice. You can't do anything with ice. We tried sledding on it once but all I kept seeing was my kids' lives flashing before my eyes as they sped down the hill straight for the trees. Today, however, my wish came true and we got six inches of the most perfect snow. Here's a a little video clip of the twins' first dip in the stuff.
Now I'm just tired. I think I shoveled three different times today. And just bundleing up six kids exhausted me. Plus I'm sick. And the kids have been home all week and I haven't had a single minute for myself. And Mark's going away again next week and just the thought makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry. So I pretty much spent the rest of the day being good for nothing. But nevermind it all. A little sleep should fix things up quite nice.
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
 Last night as I was giving Noah a bedtime kiss, I felt something fall onto my foot. Noah immediately sat up and dived for the floor, exclaiming, "My finger diaper!" I thought the exact same thing too--your what? His finger diaper. . . you know, just in case his pointer decides to take a whiz in the middle of the night. Sometimes my kids are just plain weird. What can I say?
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
So Hunter and I went to Diabetes Clinic today and we were both anxious to see what his A1c would be. For those of you wondering what the heck an A1c is--it's a number that tells what Hunter's blood sugar has been over the past three months. It's kind of like a 1-10 scale only normal people are a 5 and when Hunter was diagnosed with Diabetes (so his blood sugar was seriously out-of-control) he was an 11. Lately we've been struggling to keep Hunter at an 8 as he's inched closer and closer to a 9. We'd love to have him at a 6 but the best we've ever had was a 7 point 1. Three months ago Hunter was an 8 point 7 and we decided on our drive home that we would do our darndest to get him in the sevens for his next clinic. Thus the anxiety.
So, first off our beloved Katie wasn't there. Some other chick was sitting behind the reception desk and she was all about the paperwork and not at all about Hunter. But Katie was always about Hunter. I don't know if she is like this to all of the Pediatric Diabetics that wander through their clinic but whenever we walk in that itty-bitty office up at Yale she makes it feel like Hunter is her very own child and she's lost him and finally found him. I'm totally convinced she loves Hunter and our entire family for that matter. So we were both a little disappointed she wasn't there. And the other chick was so business-y. It was almost like she was there to replace our Katie and get rid of the celebrating and reuniting and get down to the important stuff like collecting the co-payment and making sure his records were updated with Yale's records office.
Then some other chick took Hunter away and did all his weighing and measuring and testing. And while he was away the head doctor, "the Man", the Dr. T of the Yale Pediatric Diabetes Program wandered in and said something about how he was so happy to see all of his diabetic families working so hard to keep their kids' diabetes under good control. And then he wandered over to me and introduced himself and asked if we were keeping Hunter's diabetes under good control and I said something about we're trying really hard. And then he said, "Everybody thinks they're working hard." And I wanted to give him the finger right then but I just smiled because that's when I heard them tell Hunter his A1c was a 7.3, down from an 8.7 and I didn't care about Dr. T anymore. I could hear Hunter telling the nurses how he'd met his goal and he was so proud of himself and I just wanted to hug the little man. We'd done it, dog gone it, and where was our Katie to jump around and scream and shout with Hunter?
Then we met with the third chick, some new doctor that was there to review Hunter's numbers and it was a matter of minutes before she'd shot me down, saying something about his A1c was just a result of low blood sugar at night and not a product of any changes or efforts we had made in the past three months. Yeah, maybe. I get it. But just could she keep it to herself and let us, for the next three months or so, pretend that we do have some control over Hunter's diabetes. That we can make a difference. That our efforts aren't in vain. Would it hurt that much? Fortunately Hunter didn't seem to hear her and we've already made it a goal to get his A1c below a seven by next clinic. But I was bummed at that point and I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and maybe never go back. I needed Katie there to make me laugh with another one of her stories about getting stuck under a bridge while tubing or some other silly thing that has happened to her lately. But she wasn't there and I was depressed.
We've always been pleased with Yale's Diabetic program. But today it was clear that they were making some changes in the way they were running things that I'm not sure were for the best. Sure, they were getting down to business making sure paperwork was complete and that all their T's were crossed. But in the process they made us feel like crap. And as a result I left thinking maybe it was time to find a new endocrinologist. I know doctors are busy and they have all sorts of things to worry about like lawsuits and insurance and paperwork but I always thought their first priority was supposed to be their patients. I don't feel like that so much anymore. I feel more like something on an assembly line. The quicker they process us the better. Except that it's not better for me. It's only better for them and since when did medicine become more about the doctor than the patient? Maybe Katie is silly and maybe she doesn't always collect the copay upfront, but I think everyone up there at Yale could learn a lesson or two from her. And I really hope she's there next time because if she's not I don't think we'll go back. Come back Katie! We need you and so does the Yale Pediatric Diabetes Team!
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Okay. . . so that gum spot on Caleb's quilt. It's not really gone. I found it again when I made his bed. So gum is still a problem. However, I'm going to give Elmer's Sticky Out another try, because I don't know what else to try. So hopefully, if I keep washing it with Sticky Out, it will eventually disappear.
But don't despair. I've solved two other problems to make life easier for you. First, if you have a sick, sniffly baby at home that can't keep a pacifier (or a thumb or a bottle) in their mouth because they would suffocate if they did because their nose is so stuffy, then this solution is for you. It comes from my sister Melanie, who got it from my mother, who got it from I don't know where but who cares because it really works. Rub Vick's VapoRub on their feet and put some socks on. That's it. The other night Caleb was all stuffy and he couldn't suck his thumb and he was miserable and so was I because I wanted to be sleeping so I tried it and within minutes he was sucking his thumb again without having to come up for air and shortly after he was sleeping. Now if that's not a great thing I don't know what is. Happy breathing easy!
And then there's the age old dilemna, what's for dinner? Here's the best recipe for Roast Chicken. . . ever! Sometimes when I need Caleb to go to sleep quick I force him to lay down with me and watch Food Network. Work's like a charm everytime. Anyway, last week we watched Ina Garten tell a Chicken Story and her Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken looked really easy to make and really yummy. So Sunday we gave it a go and holy crow! It was easy and it was yummy. And I can hardly wait to use the remains to make some of her Chicken Stock for later. The only catch is Food Network is only going to post these particular recipes til February 26th. So if you only want the best Roast Chicken dinner ever, you'd better hurry on over to Food Network and print yourselves a copy of these recipes, quick! And don't forget, chicken soup is the best remedy for the common cold. . . that and Vick's VapoRub on your feet.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
 Not long after the twins were born my mom bought bedding for the babies' room. For Caleb's big boy bed she bought this really great comforter called a mattress hugger which of course wasn't cheap. So this summer when Caleb fell asleep on it with gum still in his mouth you can imagine my horror when I found the grey sticky mess a few days later. It's been there ever since, making me feel guilty every time I look at it, but I'm not so good at getting gum out of anything and I didn't know what else to do. Anyway while we were at Walmart one day I came across this stuff called Elmer's Sticky Out. Gum is sticky, I thought, maybe it will work! The fact that the gum was no longer sticky didn't concern me. It used to be sticky and that was the critical part. So last week I poured the stuff on and let it sit for an hour while I got everyone dressed. Then I went to throw it in the wash and whoa! It was totally gone. Totally! So now you know--gum is no longer a problem.
 Then the other day while I was watching some cooking show I saw this really great idea. See I love, love, love spiced cider. I just get some cider from the grocery store and throw in some cloves and cinnamon sticks and a little O.J. and wah-lah! Heaven in a mug. It's especially good on a day like today when we're drowning in slush and rain and gook. Anyway, the problem is, when it's time to put the leftovers away, the cloves are always lost in the bottom of the pan and if you leave them in there it makes the cider a little too spicy. That's why when I saw this, I thought Pure Genius! So, next time you get a hankering for some not-too-spicy cider just stab a few cloves in an orange peel with a few cinnamon sticks and some cider, warm it up and happy sipping!
 And you probably already do great things like this but when you lack creativity like me, any handy little creative idea I come up with is monumental. We all know cookie cutters can be used for cutting crusts off of sandwiches but did you know you can also use them to cut apples. Yeah, I know, Pure Genius! Anyway, tomorrow when you're lookin' to fancy up your kids' sack lunches you'll thank me. I know you will. Just don't forget to squirt them with lemon juice, which by the way is another great idea I came across in Homemaking (thanks to Jodi Clay). I keep my lemon juice in a squirt bottle in the fridge and whenever the boys take fruit in their lunch I give it a little squirt of lemon juice and it keeps it from turning brown. And that's one more problem solved!
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
If there's one thing I hate more than anything else it's when Mark travels. I realize there's no way around it. When you work with people in Mexico it's sort of inevitable. He has to go see them, sometimes. And honestly, it's not that often. But even still, I hate when he goes. This time his departure brought on a serious anxiety attack. I'm not sure why because I've done this several times alone now, but all of Sunday morning I could hardly breathe and my heart was racing and I was on the verge of tears the entire day. Get a grip, I kept telling myself, it's not like he's around that much or like he does that much to help when he is around. Things usually run a lot smoother when he's gone actually. I do a whole lot less waiting for him to come home and help and spend more time getting on with things. And within a few short days I'm so on top of things I have nothing to do. Like today. I mean, there's laundry to fold but I'm saving that for tonight while I watch American Idol. But pretty much everything else is done and I'm actually even sort of bored. Weird.
Anyway, so I've gotten this temporary single parent thing down to almost a fine art and thought I'd share just exactly how I survive without my sidekick to help me out. Of course, the one thing I haven't mastered is filling the major void Mark leaves behind when he goes--I miss him desperately and I haven't found anything to remedy that yet, not even chocolate. But here are the major survival tips:
First, go to the grocery store before he heads out of town. Buy all the comfort food you can cram into your cart and don't forget popsicles and coke because 99% of the time someone barfs when he's away and you don't want to be caught unprepared or have to drag barfing kids to the grocery store for necessities. Also, the coke is very handy when you are on call 24/7.
Second, don't plan any extravagant menus because the one person who will eat them with you won't be there to eat them. Instead eat like we do when Mark is gone. Here's a five day menu sure to please even the pickiest eaters and there's hardly any meal prep involved which means less clean-up which is good when you don't have an extra pair of hands to help out.
Day One: Fish sticks, raw veggies-n-dip, Five cup fruit salad, tator tots.
Day Two: Chicken Nuggets, Kraft Mac-n-cheese, Watermelon and Corn on the cob.
Day Three: Chicken noodle soup, raw veggies-n-dip (because there are always leftovers of veggies) and grapes.
Day Four: Belgian waffles, ham steaks and fruit cocktail.
Day Five: Lasagna (okay this requires a little prep but after all the kiddie food, you'll be ready for it) and toss salad and french bread.
Third, plan some major project to keep you busy and help keep your mind off missing the traveling man. This week's project, of course, is all about Valentine's day. I'm almost done making 60 of these babies for Hunter, Noah and Denver to give away to their classmates, who will then throw them in the garbage and all my hard work with them--sigh! And then I'll spend the next two days helping the boys fill them out. Busy! Busy! Busy! And make sure you keep it that way.
Fourth, putting six kids to bed is quite a job, especially when three of them want Prince Caspian read to them and three of them want you to snuggle and hold bottles. So while I read to the big boys upstairs, I plop the three boys in front of the TV and let them watch I Love Toy Trains for half an hour. And miraculously, everytime I've come downstairs all three of them have been sitting on the couch, right where I plopped them before I went upstairs. I think the fact that they are completely exhausted helps, but I have yet to be interrupted while reading to the big kids. Of course this means you have to limit TV time during the day but it's manageable.
 Fifth, once the kids are in bed it gets mighty quiet and lonely. Thus the five loads of laundry waiting to be folded tonight. But even when the laundry is folded and the dishes loaded and the chores are all done and I've watched all the TV I can possibly stay awake for, I hate going to bed. I'm so good at freaking myself out. But fortunately for me, I've found a few things that put my mind at ease and help me feel a little bit better about sleeping alone. So what takes over Mark's side of the bed when he's not here? A cell phone, my car keys with alarm button and a steak knife. I figure this way if anyone breaks in I can alert the neighbors, contact 911 and at least sort of injure the bad guy until further assistance arrives. I know it sounds silly but it makes me feel safe enough to fall asleep and sleep is very important when you are in charge of six kids, solo. But don't worry. I'm thinking of upgrading my steak knife for a hunting knife which we have in the basement--I figure it would be much more intimidating and inflict much more damage than the steak knife. That is until I convince our Homemaking Leader to host a Where Do I Buy A Gun and How Do I Use It homemaking night and I get hold of a nice pink revolver. That, or a pink taser. Or check out the Tampon Stun Gun--how awesome would that be?
 
 
And last but certainly not least, make sure you have lots of chocolate and ice cream on hand. It helps. I'm not sure why but it does. And there you have it. My very own survival guide to single parenthood. Lucky for me this only lasts for a couple of days at a time or I'd seriously have to find me a second "stay-at-home" husband. That said, I love you husband. Come home quick!
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Monday, February 11, 2008
For all of you busty mothers out there whose breasts sag just a little more than they used to, who don't need extra padding but would like a little extra support when it comes to being practically naked on the beach, I would like to introduce you to the absolutely best swimsuit top ever! I've never been able to find an underwire, no padding included swimsuit top until now. I found this one on Land's End dot com and I'm already considering buying a second. It's a little pricey but hey--feeling confident in hardly nothing at all is totally worth it. They have some pretty cute cover-ups too, for those of you whose pubic hair has taken on a mind of it's own and whose thighs have seen better days. And believe me--it's never too soon to try finding the perfect swimsuit. We're thinking positive here--it's gonna get sunny and warm soon. . . we hope!
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Saturday, February 09, 2008
Years ago we sort of started a tradition of going to the local Harmons every Saturday and having donuts for breakfast. Hunter wasn't even three yet and Noah was just a baby. Sometimes Kak would join us and sometimes we did our grocery shopping afterwards. But it wasn't long before the boys would wake up on Saturdays and immediately get excited over our early morning excursion to the grocery store. We even came up with a little diddy we'd sing while we'd get ourselves somewhat decent for breakfast (you know, sweats and baseball caps). "It's donut day, it's donut day, yippee, yippee, yippee yay. It's donut day, it's donut day, yippee, yippee, yippee, yay." We don't do Harmons anymore because, well, we don't live by a Harmon's anymore. But we still occasionally do donut day because now we live near a Dunkin Donuts. Anyway, today just so happened to be a donut day and Caleb was kind enough to demonstrate just exactly how you should eat a donut--just in case you were wondering.
First, eat all of the frosting off the top of your donut.
After you're sure you've gotten all of the frosting off the top, discard the rest and give the donut master a pair of puppy dog eyes they'll never resist to ensure you get seconds.
Begin with the second donut by digging all of the filling out with your finger. . .
and then lick it off.
When the filling has all been got, start in on the frosting, taking the biggest bites you possibly can.
If all of this donut eating starts wearing you out, go ahead and leave the donut lying on the table while you eat it. This will give your arms a much needed rest.
And of course, when you're done eating all of these donuts, have a workout with your mother. You'll feel much better.
P.S. I've had several people ask how I possibly find time to exercise with six small children underfoot. This is how. I use babies for weights and potty stepstools and miniature weights to entertain the bigger kids and usually I get a pretty decent workout, as well as a pounding headache to go with it. Of course, I don't exercise to get skinny. I exercise to erase all the chocolate and donuts I eat to cope with always having six small children underfoot. And now you know.
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Thursday, February 07, 2008
 When I woke up this morning I just felt kind of "blah." I couldn't put my finger on anything specific that was bothering me. I just didn't want to get up and go. I didn't want to face the day. What I really wanted to do was curl up in bed, under the covers, with the curtains closed and the door locked and watch some sappy chick flick and pretend like I was the last person on earth. Instead I got out of bed. I tried to convince Mark to stay home from work--misery always wants company right? But he had to go to work. So I tried drowning out whatever it was that was bothering me with a bunch of food but that didn't work. I tried convincing myself that letting the babies watch Sesame Street all day wasn't neglect and that it would be okay if I locked myself in my room and curled up under the covers and let Elmo watch the kids for awhile. That didn't work either. So I tried to be creative and made this silly puppet for Caleb because he seemed so intrigued by the puppets on TV. But mostly he was annoyed by it and a little bit scared of it. And then I got a phone call from an old friend accusing me of being a bad friend and that made me wish even more that I was hiding under the covers, hidden from reality. After the babies were down I forced myself to work, all the while trying to drown out the "blah" with chocolate but to no avail. I got the laundry done and the kitchen mopped and the bathrooms cleaned and myself dressed. The babies woke up and the kids came home from school all at the same time and I was forced to deal with everything I really wanted to be hiding from, like poopie diapers and dog poop on tennis shoes and whining about how hungry everyone is and how much homework everyone has and how nobody wants piano lessons and everyone wants gametime. And Caleb whacked me over the head with a toy and that's when I started thinking that maybe I should have stayed in bed and that maybe it wasn't too late to try. But Mark didn't get home until almost 8:00pm and by then, the hard work was done with and I didn't want to miss out on the last book of the Spiderwick Chronicles. So I carried on and now the kids are in bed and we're watching Lost and I can crawl under the covers and hide whenever I'm ready. I don't know if tomorrow will be better but I'm hoping it will be cause I really hate these kinds of days when life isn't so hard but living is.
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Monday, February 04, 2008
So here's a bunch of stuff that's not really worthy of it's own blog so I thought I'd just throw it all into one big blog together.
 I saw the idea for these oranges in this month's Family Fun Magazine. I thought they looked sort of fun and that they'd go well with our bagel pizzas on Scout night. So they were a major pain in the you-know-what to make and I sort of felt guilty scraping all the good stuff out of the oranges just to fill them with a bunch of non-nutritional stuff, but the kids liked them and so did Mark, who can't eat real oranges yet, so I guess it was worth all the pain in my rearend. They would make a great summer afternoon snack though and you can do any color you want, which sounds sort of fun too. All you do is scrape out an orange and fill it with Jell-O jigglers. I used sugar-free Jell-O and be careful scraping out the oranges not to make any holes in the peel cause then you have to start all over again and then you'll start getting all mad and frustrated and wondering why you ever bothered wasting perfectly good fruit for Jell-O. A double batch of Jigglers makes enough Jell-O for three oranges or six halves. Have fun!
 I snapped this picture of Grandma Gribble this past week. She still comes faithfully, every Friday. I tried to tell her she could have the month of February off so she could work on some of the things she wants to be doing. She has so many projects she's trying to complete and she's such a busy lady. But she refused, almost insulted that I would suggest such a thing. I sure do love her. Don't you wish she was yours?
Noah did this homework last week. Hunter has to write sentences every week with his vocabulary words and he always complains about how hard it is. But Noah just sat down at the dining room table and did these all by himself. I loved them so much, I thought you might love them too. I don't remember having to write sentences with my vocabulary words until I was in High School. I don't think first graders should have that kind of homework. But trust Noah to do it without complaining and to do such a good job too. How'd I get so lucky to have so many smartie pants? (P.S. If you're stuck on sentence #4 it says, "When he jumped into the pool they shouted at him.")
 Last week I took the twins to their 15 month well-child exams. I also took Denver (who was taking his Mental Health Day and missing school) and Caleb. The twins did fine. Jericho is in the tenth percentile both for weight and height and Justus, who weighs over a pound more than Jericho, is in the tenth percentile for height and twentieth percentile for weight. Neither of them cried when they got their shots. But the appointment ended up being more about Caleb than the twins. He was flirting with the doctor, singing for the nurses, and greeting all of the PHA employees by name (yeah, we're on a first name basis with several of them, it's that bad). And when he fell and banged his cheek on the countertop, Dr. A came running into the room ready to save Caleb from certain death. Clearly she has a soft spot for the kid and she immediately went to work finding him a bandaid and wiping away his tears. It's no wonder Caleb loves going to the Doctor--she loves him almost as much as I do. Anyway, he wore that bandaid slapped across his cheek all day until he banged his chin on something else and we replaced the bandaid that had lost its stick with a fresh bandaid on his chin. I guess it's no surprise Dr. A loves Caleb so much. Who doesn't?
And last but not least, today I promised Denver we'd make slime. You know, the cornstarch and water kind. Anyway, turns out one-year olds and two-year olds and four-year olds and almost seven-year olds and even grown-ups like myself and Aunt Me-Me like slime and pretty soon we had slime all over the kitchen. Lucky for me, it's an easy clean up and also that it's non-toxic because the twins thought it was super delicious and I don't think two calls to Poison Control in 24 hours would be very good. Justus especially loved the stuff and was one of the last ones standing, literally, in the stuff.
  
And by the way, what do you do to entertain your toddlers through the winter months? I'm running out of ideas and out here on the East Coast, February is just the beginning of winter. I've still got at least another three months of winter before summer gets here. And yeah, I mean summer. There's no such thing as spring here. Just winter, summer and fall. And winter lasts a really, really long time. Send some suggestions quick and don't worry--there's no project too messy, just as long as it's simple. Remember we're mostly babies around this neck of the woods. . . babies and a mommy with a really fried brain. We'll do messy but not complicated.
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Sunday, February 03, 2008
In Primary this year they are doing a Star Child every week. They had the kids fill out questionaires about themselves with the usual kind of information: favorite candy, favorite color, favorite holiday, etc. Then they have all of the kids stand up and they start reading the questions and one of the kid's answers. If one of the answers is not true about them then they are supposed to sit down. They keep doing this until there is only one kid left standing, hopefully the one who filled out the questionnaire that they are reading. Anyway, one of the questions is who is your hero? Any guesses on who Hunter wrote down? If you guessed Noah you're right, because "Noah saved his life."
I don't know why that brought me to tears except that maybe it's because Hunter had another seizure last night and it was Denver who came to his rescue. And this morning Caleb decided to drink some of my nail polish remover. Yup. While I was standing right there, painting my toenails, listening to Mark talk, while he was standing right there in the bathroom with me. Caleb kept reaching up to grab it and I kept taking it away and telling him "no" and then all of the sudden he was screaming and crying and gagging and sputtering. It was so fast that neither I nor Mark actually saw him do it and I was inches away from him the whole time. So I read the label quick and forced him to drink some water and called Poison Control, who seemed really not concerned at all. They just told me to push the liquids and keep him awake for the next hour or so, until they called back. But Mark had to leave for a church meeting and I still had to get myself ready for church, feed everyone lunch, pack up the diaper bag and get all six kids loaded in the car. So I told Hunter I needed his help, that Caleb had swallowed some poison and that I needed him to keep Caleb awake for the next ten minutes while I got lunch and myself ready for church. And Hunter did. He got Caleb to drink his entire juice box and drew him pictures and kept him awake and happy the entire time. And in a tiny way, he helped save Caleb's life. And then Denver, little five year old Denver, fed the twins their lunch. He fed himself and both boys their mac-n-cheese and applesauce like he'd done it all his life. And he did it for me, to help me, so I could get everyone else their lunch and pack the diaper bag. And we couldn't have made it to church on time today if the boys hadn't helped me so much. And I guess I was touched by Hunter's answer to that simple question because they love each other, these six little boys. They really honestly love and care for one another. And together as a family, we're making it. Step by step we're pulling each other in the right direction, taking turns saving one another's lives. And it's not just me and Mark saving the kids' lives. But the kids are saving my life too. And that is one thing about having children that I never expected would happen but that couldn't be more absolutely perfect.
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Saturday, February 02, 2008
Denver brought home his first report card on Friday. He got straight VG's (very goods) with only one S (Satisfactory). Apparently the only thing he hasn't perfected would be his ability to recognize rhyming words. But the best part of the whole report card would be the comments from his teacher.
"I love having Denver in my class. He is a terrific boy who is doing well in all areas of our kindergarten program. He is friendly, helpful, responsible and a great friend to his fellow classmates. Denver listens attentively and follows directions well. He is a conscientious worker and puts much effort into his tasks. Denver does a fine job expressing himself in all areas, class discussion, sharing and telling stories from his pictures and morning meeting. He is working hard on his beginning and ending sounds and is very proud of himself because he can read some of our kindergarten words. It doesn't get much better than this. As you can tell he is a delight to have in class."
Yeah. . . I know. I'm beaming. Now if you'll excuse me I've got to go scrape myself off of cloud nine.
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