The boys are napping. Ned is trying to Nap. And by trying I mean he is laying down in bed and being quiet. He is such a good little boy. He is following the nap rules. Lay down, be quiet try and go to sleep. After a while if he hasn't napped, (about an hour or so) I will let him get up. As long as he has tried.
We had a weird week last week because Milton was traveling. He was out of town for a couple of nights. Everything went well despite my paranoia that he was going to get a migraine in California. But he didn't. And everything was just peachy. Except that we missed him. :)
The boys are being cute as ever. Quinten has decide that he must climb anything and everything. he climbs the chairs in primary and priesthood. He pushed a toy dump truck over to the couch today and used it to climb onto the couch. I thought that was pretty smart of him. We have had to move all the chairs to the wall in the kitchen and bungee cord them together so that I don't have to worry abuot him on the table. so far its only after meals that he gets up there. I don't understand the excitement. Maybe its just different toys up there? Today I found him playing with a plastic spoon and Ned's bowl of leftover yogurt.
Speaking of yogurt, did you know how easy it is to make? So easy. Instructions here http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/10/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt-2/
Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Happy
Last Friday I had an interesting thing happen.
I had a bad morning. Ned did stuff, Quinten whined, Nolan was a sweet boy. And then Milton came home. I told him about it and whined about it for a second. But then I had a thought come to me. I looked at Milton and said, I know I am all whiney about my morning. But I just have to tell you how happy I am. I love my kids. I love you. I love our life right now. We have our challenges. But thats just life.
Its true. Life is hard. But I get to go through the challenges with the ones I love most.
-------
Its nap time right now. Ned is sleeping for once and to change it up, one of the boys isn't. I can hear him on the monitor. I'm going to give him a few more minutes and then, well, I don't know. I'll figure it out when it gets to that. Who ever it is has quieted down now, so maybe, just maybe....
Milton finished his meds a few days ago and over the next month we'll see if he has any more migraines. The doc says the meds will be in his system for around a month after he quits taking them. so it could be a quiet month. We'll see. He has made quite a few changes in the past few months. He has dropped 50+ lbs, and we have changed some habits. We don't eat out very often anymore. When we do we go to a local Thai place and get dishes with lots of veggies. Here is our favorite meal:
Strawberry Goat cheese wraps.
Tortillas
Sliced strawberries
Salad (the good stuff, not iceburg. we like the spring mix at Costco)
sliced almonds
crumbled goat cheese
balsamic vinaigrette
chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
Marinate your chicken for about 30 min in some of the vinaigrette
Get a small pan, put your almonds in there. Let them get a little toasted and then add some sugar and a small pinch of salt. Let the sugar melt and coat the almonds. Make sure they are all coated. Remove from heat.
Get your salad and drizzle the vinaigrette on it. toss and make sure that the salad is somewhat coated.
Cook your chicken until its done.
Assembly.
Get one tortilla, microwave for about 15 seconds. this makes it more bendable.
Put a layer of salad on it.
Add a layer of strawberries, almonds, goat cheese, and chicken. did I forget anything? If so, add that too.
Put the ingredients on in whatever order you like.
Now roll it. With practice you'll get better. Just watch the last 20 seconds of this video for how to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZHLdA4QLcE (seriously, I only watched the last 20 seconds or so, so watch the first part at your own risk :) )
Anyway, our family is doing well. Yes we have our challenges. But we are working together and trying to stay sane.
Cecilee is working hard at school and loves it. She is such a good student.
Mia is still a worry for me since she is at school more for the social than the learning. She is getting to be a very good helper and being more responsible, so that makes us happy.
Ned is a quick learner. He is also a pleaser though. so while he gets into things, he is starting to learn some of the rules. some days aren't great (he got into the lotion today and spread it all over his brother, the couch, the carpet, the Kinect, etc. And dumped out the dirty laundry several times) but he is so sweet and innocent. he is just exploring. He also just wants to help and have a job of his own. I love when he helps. He is also very helpful when his brothers are getting into stuff. He comes and tells us.
The boys are great. They explore and love following Ned around.
I'm doing great. Finally getting to where I feel a LITTLE less out of control and like life is resuming a normal feeling. I have a list of stuff to do that is as long as my arm, and an even longer list of stuff I would LIKE to do.
A nice thing that happened this month is that we remodeled a little in our front room. There were some doors, we moved them around. We bought some great used furniture, etc. Now we have a room that is being better used and looks like a million bucks!
One project (almost) down! Just have to paint, and repair a cheap couch. but we'll get there.
I had a bad morning. Ned did stuff, Quinten whined, Nolan was a sweet boy. And then Milton came home. I told him about it and whined about it for a second. But then I had a thought come to me. I looked at Milton and said, I know I am all whiney about my morning. But I just have to tell you how happy I am. I love my kids. I love you. I love our life right now. We have our challenges. But thats just life.
Its true. Life is hard. But I get to go through the challenges with the ones I love most.
-------
Its nap time right now. Ned is sleeping for once and to change it up, one of the boys isn't. I can hear him on the monitor. I'm going to give him a few more minutes and then, well, I don't know. I'll figure it out when it gets to that. Who ever it is has quieted down now, so maybe, just maybe....
Milton finished his meds a few days ago and over the next month we'll see if he has any more migraines. The doc says the meds will be in his system for around a month after he quits taking them. so it could be a quiet month. We'll see. He has made quite a few changes in the past few months. He has dropped 50+ lbs, and we have changed some habits. We don't eat out very often anymore. When we do we go to a local Thai place and get dishes with lots of veggies. Here is our favorite meal:
Strawberry Goat cheese wraps.
Tortillas
Sliced strawberries
Salad (the good stuff, not iceburg. we like the spring mix at Costco)
sliced almonds
crumbled goat cheese
balsamic vinaigrette
chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
Marinate your chicken for about 30 min in some of the vinaigrette
Get a small pan, put your almonds in there. Let them get a little toasted and then add some sugar and a small pinch of salt. Let the sugar melt and coat the almonds. Make sure they are all coated. Remove from heat.
Get your salad and drizzle the vinaigrette on it. toss and make sure that the salad is somewhat coated.
Cook your chicken until its done.
Assembly.
Get one tortilla, microwave for about 15 seconds. this makes it more bendable.
Put a layer of salad on it.
Add a layer of strawberries, almonds, goat cheese, and chicken. did I forget anything? If so, add that too.
Put the ingredients on in whatever order you like.
Now roll it. With practice you'll get better. Just watch the last 20 seconds of this video for how to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZHLdA4QLcE (seriously, I only watched the last 20 seconds or so, so watch the first part at your own risk :) )
Anyway, our family is doing well. Yes we have our challenges. But we are working together and trying to stay sane.
Cecilee is working hard at school and loves it. She is such a good student.
Mia is still a worry for me since she is at school more for the social than the learning. She is getting to be a very good helper and being more responsible, so that makes us happy.
Ned is a quick learner. He is also a pleaser though. so while he gets into things, he is starting to learn some of the rules. some days aren't great (he got into the lotion today and spread it all over his brother, the couch, the carpet, the Kinect, etc. And dumped out the dirty laundry several times) but he is so sweet and innocent. he is just exploring. He also just wants to help and have a job of his own. I love when he helps. He is also very helpful when his brothers are getting into stuff. He comes and tells us.
The boys are great. They explore and love following Ned around.
I'm doing great. Finally getting to where I feel a LITTLE less out of control and like life is resuming a normal feeling. I have a list of stuff to do that is as long as my arm, and an even longer list of stuff I would LIKE to do.
A nice thing that happened this month is that we remodeled a little in our front room. There were some doors, we moved them around. We bought some great used furniture, etc. Now we have a room that is being better used and looks like a million bucks!
One project (almost) down! Just have to paint, and repair a cheap couch. but we'll get there.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
So little time, So much to blog about!
I can't believe its been so long since I last blogged. So much has been happening.
Nolan is now walking and is so cute. I will play peek aboo with both the boys and Nolan will cover his face with his hand and say Ba! It is fun to see his personality come alive.
In early November we took Nolan to the Pediatrician and he verified what we had been thinking. The cyst on his eyebrow did look like it was growing. So he referred us to a pediatric surgeon in the area. We went and saw her and she said that he needed to have it removed in the next year since as he grew it could etch into the bone. Meaning the bone would form around it. To my thinking that would be a bad thing since the bone would be thinner right there. Anyway, the pediatric surgeon isn't covered by our insurance, but since they are the only one in our area, we could get them covered 20/80 by insurance. They are with a hospital that isn't covered, so we would have to deal with that also. but we were going ahead with it. Until I called our insurance to make sure we could be covered and they happened to mention that we could go to Primary Childrens's hospital in Salt Lake and be covered 90/10 since they had a special contract with our insurance. We decided to look into this a bit since we have family down there and the weather was still great.
It must have been meant to be. We called and they had a doctor who had a clinic Monday and surgeries on Tuesday. The appointment they had was the Monday after we had to be in Twin Falls for a baby blessing/baptism. So we went to the baby blessing and then sent most of our kids home with Grandma and Grandpa. Milton's mom was kind enough to stay with them at our house. In the meantime we just drove straight down to Salt lake. My brother was kind enough to put us up for a few nights and we came back on Tuesday right after the surgery.
During all of this we really saw Nolan blossom. It was crazy. You see, Quinten is that Squeeky wheel that is always squeaking. Nolan is a quiet little boy. But while we had all this going on, Nolan was getting more attention. He loved it. He started talking more and in Salt Lake he took his first 3 steps. He is such a sweet little boy. Really a talker. He loves to growl and make all sorts of noise. But no screaming. YAY!
When we met with the surgeon on Monday we were really impressed. The guy was nice and seemed very competent. We felt confident in him. We came in early on Tuesday morning since they like to operate on the youngest children first since they can't have anything but clear liquids and apple juice. Nolan chugged an apple juice before we got in the car and seemed quite happy.
Primary children's is very efficient. You go in one room and sign in on a computer and get one of those flashy things like you get at Olive Garden. When it lights up you check in with a person who checks your data and makes sure your insurance and every thing is up to date as well as getting a payment of some sort from you.
Then you go back and wait for the thing to start making noise. This time we got to go back to a room where the nurse took Nolan's vitals and we changed him into some very worn looking pants, socks, and a hospital gown top.
From there we went into another waiting room where there were some toys. Lucky for us they had a corral type area where there were toys and a movie playing. Both of the boys were content to play in there and at one point I had a push toy out for Nolan and he was walking/pushing it around all of the chairs in the waiting area.
We met with our surgeon , who gave us a rundown on time and what to expect. Then we met with our anesthesiologist. He seemed very nice. He listened to Nolans lungs since he had just gotten over a slight cold. scared the socks off of us with all that could go wrong and then took us down the hall way where he took Nolan and sent us to the waiting room. Nolan was fine. I was a little sad because I didn't really get to hug him goodbye. That was probably a good thing since he didn't really know anything was going on. And Nolan was so easy going he just accepted what was happening. No crying or anything.
We got sent to the waiting room where there were all sorts of snacks and some water and an area to sit with about 50-75 other anxious parents. Quinten just toddled around and ate the cookies we gave him.
After about 30 minutes our surgeon came into the room and found us. He told us Nolan did great and that we should be called back to sit with him soon.
They called me back shortly after that. Just one parent since he was still in recovery? I went back and he was crying and being held by a nurse. They kindly brought me a rocking chair and I held Nolan and he was happy to see me. They brought him 4 oz of apple juice in a bottle (? he never drank from one before) which he promptly chugged down. They refilled it and he kept drinking.
They brought us to another room where they then called Milton back. Quinten was sleeping in Milton's arms (thank goodness) and we just held and cuddled Nolan. The nurse kindly brought a fleece BYU blanket for Nolan to keep and a pillow for him to lay on while he was in my arms (for the arm of the chair, Nolan is getting long!). Since Nolan had drunk so much apple juice and hadn't been sick, he was able to be discharged very quickly (after watching his vitals for a little while longer)
The nurses, doctors, receptionists, everyone at Primary Childrens were so kind and caring. I would highly recommend them. They move you around so much that it would be easy to think you were just a number. But with all of the kind attention, you don't. You feel cared for.
The trip home from Salt lake was great. Nolan slept most of the time. Both he and Quinten did great.
We got home and stayed overnight and then Milton and I took off without the kids to a 2 night vacation in the mountains about an hour from our house. Again, Grandma was nice enough to stay with the kids.
It was so nice. We actually had conversations about life and challenges and all sorts of stuff. After this year it was much needed.
We came home and Milton drove Grandma home. He said that she was tired and almost fell asleep on the drive. We are so grateful she was willing to do this for us.
Milton's migraines have not returned which is great. He had been working out and watching what he eats. Trying to avoid msg and processed foods. Not much eating out, more veggies and fruit, etc. He has lost nearly 50 lbs in the past 3 months. He is feeling great. He gets to see his doc next week. They will try weaning him off the medication and we hope that his migraines won't come back.. If they do, he will go back on the meds. They will try weaning him every 3 months until a year. If they can't wean him at a year, he is on the meds for life. We are all praying that with all of the life changes he's made that the weaning will be easy and there won't be any problems.
Cecilee has got the most wonderful teacher for 5th grade. She is really blossoming and he really challenges her. It helps that she is in a fairly calm class since there are 34 kids in it. I talked to her teacher last night at a school activity and it sounds like he is really enjoying the whole class dynamic. Said that they were a great class and that Cecilee is really working hard. He said to keep challenging her because she was really bright.
Mia is doing better and better. She still has a tendency to always take the easiest route, but you can see she is a sweet girl who loves her little brothers. She wants to be like Cecilee. She is trying to find her way. She is very talented on the piano and loves to go to Grandma's for lessons. Grandma has been changing up the rewards a little this year and really motivating her.
She is still struggling with school since she loves the social more than the work, but we are working on this. She really loves to read.
Ned is really a 2 year old these days. He gets into everything. He recently ate a roof and about 1 1/2 walls of the 2 gingerbread houses I made for decorating. The same night he got at the Christmas tree and smashed all of the bulbs that he could reach. He stayed in the time out a lot that day. Luckily I regained my good humor after decorating the gingerbread house with the family. Ned couldn't participate as his punishment. But he loved watching.
The boys are fun. they are both walking. Quinten is running. He is fast! He is still a yeller and a crier. He is happiest when he is in Mom's arms. He has a sweet smile and a LOT of energy. If I'm not giving him enough attention he is sure to let me know. And no. Dad is not quite as good as mom. I wish he were. There are many times that I walk around the house with him following and crying behind me. I call him my entourage.
Nolan is a sweetheart. A shy smile and a quiet demeanor. He loves to growl and talk. I think he may be an early talker. He walks around and is getting better and better. He loves his brother Ned (whose favorite new trick is to push his brothers over) and has been carrying a stuffed cat around.
We love all of these kids so much!
I have been trying to keep up. Still in primary. In fact this is my month for Sharing time and I'm trying to put a live nativity together for next week. I've been trying to keep the house clean and laundry caught up and do some redecorating in our front room. Its a lot, but I'm doing well. Some days better than others (terrible 2's, ugh) The boys are all sleeping through the night for the most part, but lately one will wake up around 11 - midnight and cry at the top of their lungs which always wakes up someone else and can turn into an hour delay for sleep (like last night, I went to bed at 1am because Ned woke up and wailed). Oh well. Most nights I get to sleep and that is wonderful.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Nolan is now walking and is so cute. I will play peek aboo with both the boys and Nolan will cover his face with his hand and say Ba! It is fun to see his personality come alive.
In early November we took Nolan to the Pediatrician and he verified what we had been thinking. The cyst on his eyebrow did look like it was growing. So he referred us to a pediatric surgeon in the area. We went and saw her and she said that he needed to have it removed in the next year since as he grew it could etch into the bone. Meaning the bone would form around it. To my thinking that would be a bad thing since the bone would be thinner right there. Anyway, the pediatric surgeon isn't covered by our insurance, but since they are the only one in our area, we could get them covered 20/80 by insurance. They are with a hospital that isn't covered, so we would have to deal with that also. but we were going ahead with it. Until I called our insurance to make sure we could be covered and they happened to mention that we could go to Primary Childrens's hospital in Salt Lake and be covered 90/10 since they had a special contract with our insurance. We decided to look into this a bit since we have family down there and the weather was still great.
It must have been meant to be. We called and they had a doctor who had a clinic Monday and surgeries on Tuesday. The appointment they had was the Monday after we had to be in Twin Falls for a baby blessing/baptism. So we went to the baby blessing and then sent most of our kids home with Grandma and Grandpa. Milton's mom was kind enough to stay with them at our house. In the meantime we just drove straight down to Salt lake. My brother was kind enough to put us up for a few nights and we came back on Tuesday right after the surgery.
During all of this we really saw Nolan blossom. It was crazy. You see, Quinten is that Squeeky wheel that is always squeaking. Nolan is a quiet little boy. But while we had all this going on, Nolan was getting more attention. He loved it. He started talking more and in Salt Lake he took his first 3 steps. He is such a sweet little boy. Really a talker. He loves to growl and make all sorts of noise. But no screaming. YAY!
When we met with the surgeon on Monday we were really impressed. The guy was nice and seemed very competent. We felt confident in him. We came in early on Tuesday morning since they like to operate on the youngest children first since they can't have anything but clear liquids and apple juice. Nolan chugged an apple juice before we got in the car and seemed quite happy.
Primary children's is very efficient. You go in one room and sign in on a computer and get one of those flashy things like you get at Olive Garden. When it lights up you check in with a person who checks your data and makes sure your insurance and every thing is up to date as well as getting a payment of some sort from you.
Then you go back and wait for the thing to start making noise. This time we got to go back to a room where the nurse took Nolan's vitals and we changed him into some very worn looking pants, socks, and a hospital gown top.
From there we went into another waiting room where there were some toys. Lucky for us they had a corral type area where there were toys and a movie playing. Both of the boys were content to play in there and at one point I had a push toy out for Nolan and he was walking/pushing it around all of the chairs in the waiting area.
We met with our surgeon , who gave us a rundown on time and what to expect. Then we met with our anesthesiologist. He seemed very nice. He listened to Nolans lungs since he had just gotten over a slight cold. scared the socks off of us with all that could go wrong and then took us down the hall way where he took Nolan and sent us to the waiting room. Nolan was fine. I was a little sad because I didn't really get to hug him goodbye. That was probably a good thing since he didn't really know anything was going on. And Nolan was so easy going he just accepted what was happening. No crying or anything.
We got sent to the waiting room where there were all sorts of snacks and some water and an area to sit with about 50-75 other anxious parents. Quinten just toddled around and ate the cookies we gave him.
After about 30 minutes our surgeon came into the room and found us. He told us Nolan did great and that we should be called back to sit with him soon.
They called me back shortly after that. Just one parent since he was still in recovery? I went back and he was crying and being held by a nurse. They kindly brought me a rocking chair and I held Nolan and he was happy to see me. They brought him 4 oz of apple juice in a bottle (? he never drank from one before) which he promptly chugged down. They refilled it and he kept drinking.
They brought us to another room where they then called Milton back. Quinten was sleeping in Milton's arms (thank goodness) and we just held and cuddled Nolan. The nurse kindly brought a fleece BYU blanket for Nolan to keep and a pillow for him to lay on while he was in my arms (for the arm of the chair, Nolan is getting long!). Since Nolan had drunk so much apple juice and hadn't been sick, he was able to be discharged very quickly (after watching his vitals for a little while longer)
The nurses, doctors, receptionists, everyone at Primary Childrens were so kind and caring. I would highly recommend them. They move you around so much that it would be easy to think you were just a number. But with all of the kind attention, you don't. You feel cared for.
The trip home from Salt lake was great. Nolan slept most of the time. Both he and Quinten did great.
We got home and stayed overnight and then Milton and I took off without the kids to a 2 night vacation in the mountains about an hour from our house. Again, Grandma was nice enough to stay with the kids.
It was so nice. We actually had conversations about life and challenges and all sorts of stuff. After this year it was much needed.
We came home and Milton drove Grandma home. He said that she was tired and almost fell asleep on the drive. We are so grateful she was willing to do this for us.
Milton's migraines have not returned which is great. He had been working out and watching what he eats. Trying to avoid msg and processed foods. Not much eating out, more veggies and fruit, etc. He has lost nearly 50 lbs in the past 3 months. He is feeling great. He gets to see his doc next week. They will try weaning him off the medication and we hope that his migraines won't come back.. If they do, he will go back on the meds. They will try weaning him every 3 months until a year. If they can't wean him at a year, he is on the meds for life. We are all praying that with all of the life changes he's made that the weaning will be easy and there won't be any problems.
Cecilee has got the most wonderful teacher for 5th grade. She is really blossoming and he really challenges her. It helps that she is in a fairly calm class since there are 34 kids in it. I talked to her teacher last night at a school activity and it sounds like he is really enjoying the whole class dynamic. Said that they were a great class and that Cecilee is really working hard. He said to keep challenging her because she was really bright.
Mia is doing better and better. She still has a tendency to always take the easiest route, but you can see she is a sweet girl who loves her little brothers. She wants to be like Cecilee. She is trying to find her way. She is very talented on the piano and loves to go to Grandma's for lessons. Grandma has been changing up the rewards a little this year and really motivating her.
She is still struggling with school since she loves the social more than the work, but we are working on this. She really loves to read.
Ned is really a 2 year old these days. He gets into everything. He recently ate a roof and about 1 1/2 walls of the 2 gingerbread houses I made for decorating. The same night he got at the Christmas tree and smashed all of the bulbs that he could reach. He stayed in the time out a lot that day. Luckily I regained my good humor after decorating the gingerbread house with the family. Ned couldn't participate as his punishment. But he loved watching.
The boys are fun. they are both walking. Quinten is running. He is fast! He is still a yeller and a crier. He is happiest when he is in Mom's arms. He has a sweet smile and a LOT of energy. If I'm not giving him enough attention he is sure to let me know. And no. Dad is not quite as good as mom. I wish he were. There are many times that I walk around the house with him following and crying behind me. I call him my entourage.
Nolan is a sweetheart. A shy smile and a quiet demeanor. He loves to growl and talk. I think he may be an early talker. He walks around and is getting better and better. He loves his brother Ned (whose favorite new trick is to push his brothers over) and has been carrying a stuffed cat around.
We love all of these kids so much!
I have been trying to keep up. Still in primary. In fact this is my month for Sharing time and I'm trying to put a live nativity together for next week. I've been trying to keep the house clean and laundry caught up and do some redecorating in our front room. Its a lot, but I'm doing well. Some days better than others (terrible 2's, ugh) The boys are all sleeping through the night for the most part, but lately one will wake up around 11 - midnight and cry at the top of their lungs which always wakes up someone else and can turn into an hour delay for sleep (like last night, I went to bed at 1am because Ned woke up and wailed). Oh well. Most nights I get to sleep and that is wonderful.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Walking?!?
So Quinten has decided that it is time for him to walk. He has started standing up at every opportunity and even taking the occasional step on his own. He is already showing us that he is a go getter. Holy moly.
Nolan is quite happy to continue crawling for a while.
Ned is showing the boys all about getting in trouble. When the twins nap, he and I go for a walk to the mailbox or swing on the swings before he goes down for his nap. Today I had a quiet house for a whole hour. Maybe an hour and a half. It was wonderful.
Oh yeah, we gave up on home schooling this year. We just couldn't get organized enough to make the situation work. There wasn't enough of me to go around. I realized that I can't be a mom to 5 kids, wife, cook and clean, and have time for myself, and be sane, all at the same time. It was to much. So I gave up and put the girls back in school yesterday.
They loved it. I didn't realize how much they missed their friends and teachers and school in general. And hot lunch. I'm not sure why, but they love hot lunch. I guess hot leftovers, or hot mac n cheese just wasn't the same :)
So, we've given up for now. I may revisit next year, or a few years from now. In the meantime, I am continuing to keep my options open. We still have 3 charter schools within a mile of our house that we can't seem to get into. Maybe one of these days we will win the lottery. But it hasn't happened in the past 5 years, so....
Being at home with 3 under 3 is strangely quiet. Its boring after the crazy schedule we've been running with the past month or so. The thing I miss is how stimulating teaching the kids was. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Especially teaching math. I enjoyed the challenge and exploring together with my kids.
One thing I've come away with from this experience is to be more involved with the projects and subjects that my kid are learning. For instance Cecilee is dissecting owl pellets at school this week. It is exciting and fun to hear about and learn about. Homeschooling has really awakened an interest in me about what the kids are learning about. Its not just the basics anymore.
I've also learned about the resources available to everyone. Online and elsewhere.
So lots of good things have come from this experience. Also, if we decide to do this in the future I'll be a lot more prepared and ready for the challenge.
For all of you homeschoolers out there. I have so much respect for all you do. It is not an easy thing to do. It can be fun, but its challenging and takes a LOT of your time. You are amazing.
Nolan is quite happy to continue crawling for a while.
Ned is showing the boys all about getting in trouble. When the twins nap, he and I go for a walk to the mailbox or swing on the swings before he goes down for his nap. Today I had a quiet house for a whole hour. Maybe an hour and a half. It was wonderful.
Oh yeah, we gave up on home schooling this year. We just couldn't get organized enough to make the situation work. There wasn't enough of me to go around. I realized that I can't be a mom to 5 kids, wife, cook and clean, and have time for myself, and be sane, all at the same time. It was to much. So I gave up and put the girls back in school yesterday.
They loved it. I didn't realize how much they missed their friends and teachers and school in general. And hot lunch. I'm not sure why, but they love hot lunch. I guess hot leftovers, or hot mac n cheese just wasn't the same :)
So, we've given up for now. I may revisit next year, or a few years from now. In the meantime, I am continuing to keep my options open. We still have 3 charter schools within a mile of our house that we can't seem to get into. Maybe one of these days we will win the lottery. But it hasn't happened in the past 5 years, so....
Being at home with 3 under 3 is strangely quiet. Its boring after the crazy schedule we've been running with the past month or so. The thing I miss is how stimulating teaching the kids was. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Especially teaching math. I enjoyed the challenge and exploring together with my kids.
One thing I've come away with from this experience is to be more involved with the projects and subjects that my kid are learning. For instance Cecilee is dissecting owl pellets at school this week. It is exciting and fun to hear about and learn about. Homeschooling has really awakened an interest in me about what the kids are learning about. Its not just the basics anymore.
I've also learned about the resources available to everyone. Online and elsewhere.
So lots of good things have come from this experience. Also, if we decide to do this in the future I'll be a lot more prepared and ready for the challenge.
For all of you homeschoolers out there. I have so much respect for all you do. It is not an easy thing to do. It can be fun, but its challenging and takes a LOT of your time. You are amazing.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
and so it goes
So the day that I posted last, the twins birthday, Milton had a migraine as he was leaving work. Sounds like nothing huh? Well imagine your husband calling you from his car and saying that another migraine had hit. He couldn't feel his hand. He couldn't feel his leg at one point. At one point in our conversation he was slurring his words. Yeah. That's fun. And he forgot his meds at his desk.
Luckily he had a coworker who he could text who was able to bring his meds and his water to him. Meds got in him, eventually the numbness wore off and he just wanted to drive home. I let him go with a promise that if anything felt off he would pull over.
He got home eventually and laid down. The headache was bad again, but I think we got the meds in him soon enough that he was able to catch the migraine before it got awful.
The twins birthday was weird since we had to tiptoe around and pry Milton out of bed while the migraine was still painful. The nice thing was that eventually he started feeling a little better and the boys did get some cake and we took pictures. But it wasn't all that fun.
Fast forward to last Friday. We decided that since we were homeschooling this year we were going to take advantage of it and go to the beach in September. The weather was beautiful, less crowded (although the beach we go to is fairly quiet anyway), and we paid much less because we were getting the winter rate.
Milton woke up with a migraine. So I got him his meds, loaded everyone in the car (luckily we had packed the car Thursday night) and after remembering about 20 more things and almost forgetting my toothbrush, we left. About LaGrand Milton was feeling better and was at the tail end of the migraine. He started to push to drive and I said lets wait until Baker city to just make sure he was truly ready.
He drove and got us all there in one piece. We had a glorious week at the beach and loved every minute. We drove back yesterday and stopped at Fubon market in Portland. Lots of cool Asian ingredients (a whole cooked duck with its head on still. Ewwww) and an interesting vibe. We also stopped in Baker City for yummy Piazanos pizza. We discovered this joint the last time we went to the coast when we stopped there for dinner and were tired of fast food.
Anyway, real life is crashing into me right now and I have to much to do and don't want to do it. My house is a wreck (post vacation laundry) and Milton is gone for the next few hours at soccer games with the girls. I'm not ready to face real life again yet.
Oh, there is good news with Milton though. The last migraine he had was the day we left. He is about 1 week without a migraine. I'm hopeful but who knows. He sees the neurologist on Tuesday. It does look like the migraine cycle is over and we can move on to the next step. Whatever that is.
Luckily he had a coworker who he could text who was able to bring his meds and his water to him. Meds got in him, eventually the numbness wore off and he just wanted to drive home. I let him go with a promise that if anything felt off he would pull over.
He got home eventually and laid down. The headache was bad again, but I think we got the meds in him soon enough that he was able to catch the migraine before it got awful.
The twins birthday was weird since we had to tiptoe around and pry Milton out of bed while the migraine was still painful. The nice thing was that eventually he started feeling a little better and the boys did get some cake and we took pictures. But it wasn't all that fun.
Fast forward to last Friday. We decided that since we were homeschooling this year we were going to take advantage of it and go to the beach in September. The weather was beautiful, less crowded (although the beach we go to is fairly quiet anyway), and we paid much less because we were getting the winter rate.
Milton woke up with a migraine. So I got him his meds, loaded everyone in the car (luckily we had packed the car Thursday night) and after remembering about 20 more things and almost forgetting my toothbrush, we left. About LaGrand Milton was feeling better and was at the tail end of the migraine. He started to push to drive and I said lets wait until Baker city to just make sure he was truly ready.
He drove and got us all there in one piece. We had a glorious week at the beach and loved every minute. We drove back yesterday and stopped at Fubon market in Portland. Lots of cool Asian ingredients (a whole cooked duck with its head on still. Ewwww) and an interesting vibe. We also stopped in Baker City for yummy Piazanos pizza. We discovered this joint the last time we went to the coast when we stopped there for dinner and were tired of fast food.
Anyway, real life is crashing into me right now and I have to much to do and don't want to do it. My house is a wreck (post vacation laundry) and Milton is gone for the next few hours at soccer games with the girls. I'm not ready to face real life again yet.
Oh, there is good news with Milton though. The last migraine he had was the day we left. He is about 1 week without a migraine. I'm hopeful but who knows. He sees the neurologist on Tuesday. It does look like the migraine cycle is over and we can move on to the next step. Whatever that is.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Holy Cow what a month.
So the twins are one year old today. I don't have a present for them, I don't really have the desire to do much more than give them a kiss on the cheek and wish them a happy birthday.
There are no people coming over so I could get away with that if I really wanted to. But I won't. We will have cake and presents and fun.
This past week and a half has been enough to turn my entire head of hair white. It isn't, yet. But I'm just waiting for it.
Milton has been in the ER 3 times this past week and a half and got to stay overnight once. I won't go into all of the tests he's been given, but lets just say I don't want to think about the bills that are coming our way.
The final diagnosis is complex migraines. Migraines that start with numbness in your foot and end with not being able to speak, lump in the throat, wanting to puke because of that lump and many many more symptoms.
He has had so many medicines prescribed that I had to take a sharpy at one point and write what each one was for so that I wouldn't give him the wrong one if I was in a hurry.
I hope that we are now at the tail end of this. Its hard to say where we are for sure since I can't see into the future. But we are 4 days with no migraines so yay!
Occasionally he has had numbness in his foot which used to signal the beginning of a migraine, but so far has just been that. numbness in his foot that goes away and no pain afterwards. Its weird, but I'm hoping it doesn't mean anything other than the meds are doing their work.
He gets to see his neurologist again in 2 weeks. I have many more questions for him now that life seems to have returned to normal.
The boys are cute, crawling everywhere, charming everyone. Ned is potty training and his biggest obstacle is us. And poop. But he would be more successful if we paid more attention to it. But he along with many other things have been suffering be cause of all the medical issues Daddy has been having.
The girls are enjoying homeschooling. I am trying to figure out how to get them more independent. I've been spending a lot of time with them everyday as their teacher. I know there are ways to get them to be more independent, but I haven't had time to get organized enough for that.
Working on it. But at least their math isn't suffering. That is the one class we've had everyday of the first week of school. Just another thing suffering due to Daddy being sick. But we'll get there. Daddy is feeling better and I am getting into the swing of things. Funny thing was learning about prime factorization trees this morning with Cecilee and trying to remember how to multiply big numbers like 27 x 49 without a calculator. I know how to do it, but hadn't practiced for a while. So I had to review to make sure I was teaching her correctly. I hope to have time this week to prepare more for our lessons beforehand. I am a bad home school teacher. but I'll get there.
There are no people coming over so I could get away with that if I really wanted to. But I won't. We will have cake and presents and fun.
This past week and a half has been enough to turn my entire head of hair white. It isn't, yet. But I'm just waiting for it.
Milton has been in the ER 3 times this past week and a half and got to stay overnight once. I won't go into all of the tests he's been given, but lets just say I don't want to think about the bills that are coming our way.
The final diagnosis is complex migraines. Migraines that start with numbness in your foot and end with not being able to speak, lump in the throat, wanting to puke because of that lump and many many more symptoms.
He has had so many medicines prescribed that I had to take a sharpy at one point and write what each one was for so that I wouldn't give him the wrong one if I was in a hurry.
I hope that we are now at the tail end of this. Its hard to say where we are for sure since I can't see into the future. But we are 4 days with no migraines so yay!
Occasionally he has had numbness in his foot which used to signal the beginning of a migraine, but so far has just been that. numbness in his foot that goes away and no pain afterwards. Its weird, but I'm hoping it doesn't mean anything other than the meds are doing their work.
He gets to see his neurologist again in 2 weeks. I have many more questions for him now that life seems to have returned to normal.
The boys are cute, crawling everywhere, charming everyone. Ned is potty training and his biggest obstacle is us. And poop. But he would be more successful if we paid more attention to it. But he along with many other things have been suffering be cause of all the medical issues Daddy has been having.
The girls are enjoying homeschooling. I am trying to figure out how to get them more independent. I've been spending a lot of time with them everyday as their teacher. I know there are ways to get them to be more independent, but I haven't had time to get organized enough for that.
Working on it. But at least their math isn't suffering. That is the one class we've had everyday of the first week of school. Just another thing suffering due to Daddy being sick. But we'll get there. Daddy is feeling better and I am getting into the swing of things. Funny thing was learning about prime factorization trees this morning with Cecilee and trying to remember how to multiply big numbers like 27 x 49 without a calculator. I know how to do it, but hadn't practiced for a while. So I had to review to make sure I was teaching her correctly. I hope to have time this week to prepare more for our lessons beforehand. I am a bad home school teacher. but I'll get there.
Monday, August 5, 2013
And so it goes
So Nolan had a reaction to the amoxicillin. Poor kid was covered in spots literally from head to toe.
The doctor insisted on seeing him and said that most likely he was allergic. However, because of his age it wasn't for sure yet, so if we wanted we could do allergy testing when he was older. Also, there was a very small chance that the rash was from a virus (ear infection?). After about 3 days the spots finally disappeared. Thanks goodness the doc mentioned that the spots would most likely get worse in the 24 hours following their appearance or I would most likely have been making a panicked phone call. Poor kid.
This cold just keeps on giving.
Anyway, this past week has been full of adventure that's for sure.
We've also been working on potty training Ned. I started on Thursday, because we needed to get started. Well, it has been less than successful. But we keep plugging along.
Anyway, Ned just managed to wake up the babies (after waking me up at 4:30. Couldn't get back to sleep). So I better get going.
The doctor insisted on seeing him and said that most likely he was allergic. However, because of his age it wasn't for sure yet, so if we wanted we could do allergy testing when he was older. Also, there was a very small chance that the rash was from a virus (ear infection?). After about 3 days the spots finally disappeared. Thanks goodness the doc mentioned that the spots would most likely get worse in the 24 hours following their appearance or I would most likely have been making a panicked phone call. Poor kid.
This cold just keeps on giving.
Anyway, this past week has been full of adventure that's for sure.
We've also been working on potty training Ned. I started on Thursday, because we needed to get started. Well, it has been less than successful. But we keep plugging along.
Anyway, Ned just managed to wake up the babies (after waking me up at 4:30. Couldn't get back to sleep). So I better get going.
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