Well Baby?

(As opposed to sick baby) Julia had a well check today. We had put it off twice do to our sickness this month, though to tell the truth she was beyond overdue for a check since she hadn't been since 4 months.

It went okay and Julia was pretty pleasant for the first part, but she definitely made her presence known towards the end with her incessant screams, which I kind of expected since we were there during nap time. Anyway, she weighed 19 lb 10 oz, which is 25%, but I'm not sure if that's for one year or 13 months. Sometimes they aren't that great about being precise when they run those numbers. Regardless, she's little...no surprise there. Her height was 70% and head 85%. She is right on track with everything, though the doctor did discover an ear infection. That also was not a surprise, considering the boys and I all had ear pain during the sickness and Julia's fever did go on for a long time. The doctor said that it was pretty bad and he thought it should be treated, so we're starting amoxicillin (lucky thing-- I love that stuff!). I don't know if we'll go back in and check again.

And speaking of going back in, the doctor suggested we not come back and see him because of our not following the vaccination schedule. He said there are other doctors in the practice that are okay with alternate schedules, which I knew, but he does not want a part of it, which I did not know beforehand. Ugh, it's so hard to go against the grain when you're not one that likes conflict, you get flustered and have trouble explaining any difference of opinion you have with most people, and you're not even sure you're right! But we still can't shake the concern we have with so many vaccines being given at once now and all the crazy ingredients, recalled vaccinations, and parental testimonies. So I guess we're staying on our course. At least we're getting the vaccines. Anyway, we made it through the appointment, which I consider an accomplishment because of how much I dread and fear doctor appointments. I don't know what it would look like not to make it through the appointment, but I pat myself on the back anyway:)

So Julia at 13 months is very expressive! She laughs when she's happy or just to say "yes" and she screams, shakes her head, hits, or all of the above when she doesn't like something. She loves to read books...still often upside down...and she has her favorites. She loves avocados, cottage cheese, black olives, fruit, meat, and broccoli. She hates to wait for food. She loves to be carried around. She sometimes loves hanging with her brothers and sometimes is totally annoyed by them. She loves dogs. Her favorite word lately is "ball." She loves baby dolls and her night-nights. She naps well and sleeps well at night. She loves outside but hasn't quite mastered walking in the grass. She likes getting into stuff, but is pretty good about leaving things alone that we tell her not to touch. She likes to climb and eat non-food things. She is still nursing 4 times a day and does not want to quit. She is precious and I love her.

Love-Hate Relationship

with photographing kids...or at least groups of kids. I tried to get pictures of the kids for Valentine's cards today and it threatened to ruin my whole day. Julia is in a pretty bad stage for pictures. She doesn't want to smile or stay still and we're still seeing some of that bear of an attitude come out, especially when her brothers get near her...so making her snuggle up to them and expecting her to smile at that situation is about impossible.

So try #1 produced a bunch of pictures where Julia did not crack a smile and did sometimes cry. The boys gave the most cheesy smiles you ever saw. We took a break and tried again later. Try #2 actually got some smiles of Julia but ironically her brothers then forgot how to smile and instead just kind of stretched their mouths out a little. I did not get a single good one of everyone. Here's a little preview: (I know, I know, these are really great, huh? I did get a few that were a little better to use on the cards.)

So it's come to this

Well we thought we had Pogo pretty well managed in the invisible fence. But then when we were gone at Christmas, he got to stay with a family that adores him and lets him come inside and plays with him all the time and I think he just decided that it was worth every shock to start running away to them again. This month he began yelping his way through the fence, first just a sporadic time or two, and then more and more often, so that we just don't know what to do with him. Finally, in desperation, Matt suggested we just take off his invisible fence collar and let him go. He reasoned that our neighbors don't mind him visiting and maybe one of the reasons hie goes through the fence now is that when he gets close and heres the beep, he gets scared and thinks he better run. Of course, the beeping is supposed to send him running back to us, but anyway, that logic is obviously lost on our Pogo. So he has his freedom now and who knows what will come of him. Hopefully he's old enough that he won't go around tearing up all the neighbors' stuff the way he did pre-fence. Hopefully he's smart enough to stay out of the road. Guess time will tell. He's such a sweet dog, but he sure is stubborn.

As for the rest of us, we're tired, but hanging in there with what's left of the sickness--mostly coughs and colds. I went to a meeting at church last night and it was good just to leave the house. Julia is playing right now (as opposed to being held like every other morning) so I'm thankful she is feeling better...and that she won't be stuck to my hip for the rest of her life, which I was starting to get a little nervous about. Here are a few pictures of the troops this morning and yes, the boys were having a lovely time eating their supper for breakfast. BTW, we had someone who wanted to see the house Monday but we turned it down since I didn't think I could muster the energy to get the house ready alone, so we'll see how serious they are--if they will reschedule or not.

Day 5

Well I am soo much better today, thank you Lord. Joshua is fine. Gray started complaining of an ear ache last night and was in tears by supper, but after some tylenol and rest, he went to bed and slept fine all night and has no pain this morning. Now to Julia...she is not screaming this morning and I thought she must be much better. The puzzler is that she seems to have a slight fever even though she hasn't had one since Wednesday. No idea what that means. She is still stuck to me like glue and a little fussy so guess I'll be waiting till nap to catch up on all that housework I've missed. Hope you have a good weekend!

Confessions of a sick mother

Well folks, we're on Day 4 of this illness and I think we've finally turned a corner, as this afternoon I feel only some of the pains I had been having. Crazy how weak I am though, so that my fingers are shaking a little as I try to type. I noticed Julia has gone back to scooting a lot because she was falling down so much. The boys are fine and Matt too.

So on the first day we were sick, I thought that it was kind of good that Julia and I were sick together because when she cried for me to hold her and put her little head on my shoulder, I was really sympathizing with her since I was feeling the same aches and pains. Now fast forward to Day 3. The lethargic, whimpering angel baby had turned into a monster. She was screaming at the top of her lungs...like a mad tantrum shout...at everything and everybody. She didn't want to eat anything I offered her and I couldn't get a break because she only slept in 15 minute increments and screamed the rest. Now don't get me wrong-- I did still feel bad for her and really want her to be well, but when you're on the third day of feeling like you can't move and every loud noise makes you want to run and bury your head in a pillow, there's a part of you that feels something besides sympathy. In fact, there was a little part of me that may have walked in the kitchen at dinnertime, turned my back to my kids, and whispered, "SHUT UP!" I was definitely reconsidering my joy at being sick buddies!

But we made it through the terrible long day without Matt and I fully expected to be good as new today and thoroughly hoped that Julia would be a different child. After a long, restless, sleepless night, I woke up to her beautiful screaming. Sigh. Surely she'll be fine once I feed her and she really wakes up. I feed her and her brothers come in to greet her. She proceeds to shriek at the top of her lungs and smack (yes she really nailed them) Joshua and Gray every time they even thought about smiling at her! This girl seems sweet and calm but let me tell you, she can get some serious attitude! So I resigned myself to another day of frustration. I was a little worried about Julia because it's just hard not to be when your child is sick, but I have to say that mostly I was just fed up.

Thankfully, this story is beginning to have a happy ending. Miss Attitude started eating again, was screaming a little less, and slept well this afternoon. We'll see what the weekend holds! Gotta go get Julia now...

All I have this month

The top picture is what I found one day after the boys had been playing. Guess even superheroes can appreciate femininity:)

The rest show what Julia has been up to (or I guess I should say IN to) lately. The movie shows a little of Julia dancing to the dinosaur. You can tell a little bit that she tries to do her neck side to side like the dinosaur.

BTW, we're hanging in there and maybe getting a slight bit better this afternoon, but think it must be the flu since it's been so bad for three days now. I thought I'd be all better today, but I still had those "curled up in the fetal position shivering and aching" moments this morning. Thank goodness for Julia's naptime and PBS Kids!

So far this week....

...It hasn't been the best week of my life because Julia and I are sick...and Joshua seemed to be getting it last night too. Last week Gray would tell me, "I don't feel very well," and then he'd name all these random body parts that hurt, depending on when you ask him. But for the most part he would act normally, so I dismissed it as him just enjoying saying that phrase. Sorry, buddy! Aside from the knees hurting that you mentioned, I think I know just how you were feeling now! So I can't speak for Julia except to say she had a fever and wanted to be held all afternoon/evening, but I have had lots of aches, fever/chills, and a little cough. What's funny to me, as I've been laying in the bed this morning thinking about my aches and pains, is that this is just a little virus. I'll be better in a few days with no lasting effects. Yet I feel pretty horrid. But there are people walking around with serious stuff like cancer that don't even know they have it! And then there's childbirth...the worst pain ever...that's not even a sickness, but is perfectly normal! Weird how our bodies work and I feel very thankful that we'll get new ones in heaven!

In better news, Gray is doing quite well with his reading lessons. We've done about 13 or 14 little 6-8 page books with short sentences. He might be getting stumped on things more than Joshua did, but he definitely isn't getting frustrated with himself like his big brother did at first. Guess it's personality. For example, we were on about the 5th day of this particular book with the word "hot" in it three or four times. Every time, Gray would say, "Hhh - O - Ttt"...(doing the sounds, not naming the letters, you know) Then triumphantly look at me and say, "Ot!" Every time I would tell him that no it is not 'ot' because that's not a word. I start to get frustrated and use a low volume "shout", saying, "It is not 'ot'! It will never be 'ot'! 'Ot' is not a word!!!!!!" I'm about to pull my hair out and he just looks at me like, "Whatever, lady." and tries again: "Hhh - o - ttt....Ot!" with a nice big smile. But he really is getting how to sound out the words and it's helpful to keeping me on top of the "homeschool" but having a particular goal and plan to work on.

When the kids went to Matt's parents last weekend, they got to hear some of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Gray is mildly interested, but Joshua LOVES it. After Monday night, we had read so much we only have a handful of chapters to go and Joshua is already talking about the next Narnia book. I know I read this one at some point (and definitely watched the movie lots as a girl) but listening to it now is so neat because I really get the parallels between Aslan and Jesus. Really fun to share this with Joshua.

Final piece of news- we're continuing to add people to the gym here and there and Matt's pretty happy to see record numbers of clients coming in for workouts. One day this week he had 31 people, which is the most ever. Just praying this steady growth continues past the New Year's rush and really proud of Matt for the great job he's doing with his clients.

Sorry or no pictures. I haven't taken any in weeks actually. I do have some movies on my camera I'll try to upload later.

Road Trip!

Matt and I got up at 4:15 Saturday morning, dropped Julia off at his parents' house (where the boys were spending the night already) and headed down to Ocean Isle Beach for a meeting of NC/SC Crossfit affiliates. We got there in record time (and got home even faster) thanks to Matt's racecar driving skills, and stopped in a bagel shop before going over to the gym. I think there were about 14 affiliates represented, mostly in pairs, and we sat in a circle and talked and talked and talked. There were gyms of all shapes and sizes...one that was 2 weeks old with 6 clients and one that was several years old with I think 270 clients and 30 trainers! A lot of the affiliates were in coastal towns and I was really surprised at the ones that are in obscure places and doing just fine. Definitely made me think, with the size of Durham, that we have tons of room to grow. It was interesting to hear all the ideas of how people run their gyms and really neat to be reminded of the greater CrossFit community. Everyone is so supportive and ready to offer help and advice. It was good to get away with Matt for the day, but also good to be home right now with my sweeties! Happy rest of the weekend to you!

We need to get some culture!

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

I was reading the latest post of one of my favorite blogs, which was 2010 in pictures. Gray came over and pointed to one of the pictures and said, "What's that black thing?" That "black thing" was one of the adopted Ugandan little girls of the author. Wow. I did not realize Gray doesn't see black people enough to recognize them?? Yikes. We need to get out more.

Oh and I have to tell you another funny Gray thing. I overheard the boys telling stories about Matt to my mom over the weekend. Joshua was telling her about several of Daddy's broken bone incidents, including when he landed wrong on his leg while parachuting. Next I heard Joshua say, "And Daddy fell out of a boat!" and Gray add, "And he fell out of an airplane!!" Um, no. Don't think he'd be here in that case!

So I guess 5 year olds are askers of tough questions. Joshua gets me with stuff like, "Mommy, do you ever lie?" and "Mommy, do you ever do anything wrong?" and "Mommy, did you eat my candy?" Yesterday we were talking about holidays and when I explained that Memorial Day was when we remember soldiers that died, he asked, "Mommy, why didn't Daddy die?" I told him that it was because God protected him. Then he said, "Well why didn't God protect the soldiers that did die?" Now that's one thoughtful question! I love that his questions get me thinking about and explaining faith issues, which helps me better understand and deal with what I believe. This question was no different. Talking about God's timing of death in people's lives reminded me that death is not a bad thing to be feared! God has a time for each of us to live on this earth and when we reach our time to die, we get to be with him! It is sad to miss those who die, but how happy it is for those who know Jesus to go live with him! Anyway, random serious topic in the midst of our school time yesterday!!

We have just ice around here, which has kept Matt home a little more in the mornings, so that has been good. Nothing much else going on, though I will tell you so it holds me accountable, that I did start that prayer journal, we have been doing a Bible story with the boys every night (plus verses and songs during school), and that positive, calm attitude towards stress I talked about?? Well, maybe I'm doing a little better;)

This and That

We had a full weekend with my parents, so I haven't been online too much. We had lots of family time with both sides of our family, actually, starting Friday afternoon, when we went over to brush up our pool skills on Matt's parents' new pool table. Then my parents got here Friday night and we just hung out a little then and Saturday morning. Then we went to see Matt's sisters' daughter play her first basketball game. We missed her siblings doing cheerleading and basketball earlier that day, but they sure were cute in their uniforms! From there, we went back to Matt's parents' house to let my parents have the grand tour of the new place and we stayed for lunch and more pool! Matt and my dad loved it so much they didn't want to leave when it was time to go home and they cried. Just kidding, but they did stay behind and come home just in time for dinner. I suspect they would have stayed even longer if they could. We ended the night having Matt's parents over for games and played Canasta until some of us could barely stay awake. Sunday we had church and went to lunch and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Come back again soon, Mimi and GrandGene!

In other news, I was reading Matt's sister Kim's update on her week getting back into the swing of things with homeschool. (I don't think I ever commented, Kim, but great pictures and update!!) She of course had her little ones doing fun studies and crafts, with plenty of pictures to illustrate their activities. We likewise started back school last week. I think I actually did 4 days of it, which is unusual. But there are no pictures because we didn't do anything cute or exciting:) We just did the basics...mostly reading (Gray is learning to read!) and a little math with various toys around the house, some chore time, some board games, some workbook activities, some coloring. That's about it. It was a good start for the year, though, and I hope to cover the basics several days again this week and add back in some of the things we had been doing, like devotions/learning Bible verses, singing time, science, etc.

We did take Friday off of school and had a friend from church come play. He is five and he and Joshua seem to be two peas in a pod. I expected that Gray might be a little left out and at times, he was, mostly because when 2 of the three are older, his babyish-ness (not a word, I know) stands out so they weren't always on the same page. They had fun, though, and I was really surprised at how outgoing Gray was with our friend. When we have other kids over, he typically does his own thing and takes awhile to warm up. Anyway, there was lots of poopy talk, running, crashing, superhero playing, and general boy fun! Ha, without me saying anything about what I'm typing, JOshua just asked when his friend will come over again:) We definitely need to do this more often.

More updates: We are adding a few people here and there to the gym over the last week or two. Seems the New Year is inspiring some to get moving. I love this quote from a friend's blog:

You are meddling with Christ's business and neglecting your own when you worry about your fate and circumstances. In trying to "provide," you may have forgotten that it is your business to obey. Wise up, obey, and let Christ provide. ~ C. H. Spurgeon

Well, maybe love isn't the word, but it's very challenging to me! I do spend time thinking and worrying about the gym growing and our house selling. I'm still not consumed by it or stressed even, but I can't say that I'm never worried. So this week I'm thinking about how I can just obey in this area. I think a start is to just use what God has given us at this point to honor him. I need to take care of our things, to spend money wisely, to respond to needs that God wants me to, and not to make any things an obsession. I think the hard thing is that I can't say I know Christ will provide a comfortable living for us and we won't experience hard times. That's not a guarantee of God's care for us. But I must believe that no matter how he provides and what we go through, it will be okay because he loves us.

Well I haven't mentioned much about the littlest member of the family. Miss Julia is delighting us all with her sweetness and making us laugh with her antics. She loves to dance to anything, even the blender, a dinosaur roar, etc. Matt was singing that song, "You've got the music in you" and I think that must be true. She's definitely got the rhythm! She's still letting out those mad screams at times, especially when her brothers do something to her that they think is fun and she doesn't! But she's using her signs more and talking a little bit and we are understanding each other more every day I think. She didn't play with her new toys all that much at first, but lately she's really enjoyed them. The riding toys are a favorite and she loves to be pushed and to climb on them (yikes!) She still loves baby dolls and I love the way she picks them up, studies them, and then gives them hugs and kisses. She likes to pat them on the back and put them on her riding toy to go for a stroll. She loves books and has her favorites just like the boys did. You might get through one page if you try a new one, but she squeals with delight and wants more when I read her favs.

Okay, well that's as long as I can be on the computer right now, but here's a final random thought. Baby hair is magical. At least my Julia's baby hair is. A little sleep fixes all it's problems. Just ran a sticky hand through your hair? Take a nap and the sticky is gone. Haven't had a bath in a week? Go to bed and it still looks clean in the morning. Get a little pizza grease in it at lunch time? Looking tangled and matted on the side? Haven't brushed it in a month? Nothing a good nap won't cure. The question I have is why we ever have to lose this self healing, no maintenance hair?

My little Helpers

***i typed this on matt's ipod so it might have errors!

I have been trying to get the boys to help with chores more and so far it is going well. Admittedly, it takes time at first to show them how to do stuff and even when they learn, I know I could do it faster, but little jobs add up so as long as I am not in a hurry to get stuff done, it does not really matter how long they take because I get to work on something else in the meantime. Also I think it is good that they are used to helping so it is not a big shock when they get older and I spring it on them that they have chores! Here is a list from my organizing book that gives one person's idea of what kids are capable of doing:

Carry things for you (like when I get the boys to take things upstairs for me)

Pick up toys (duh)

Get out and put up diapers (hmm..I know the author means their own, but I could teach them how to put away julia's)

Put dirty clothes in the hamper (I remember Joshua doing this as a toddler..gray could use some work)

Help unload dishwasher (this is something the boys can do on their own and just stack stuff they cannot put away on the counter; I am trying to remember to give them this chore more often)

Help set the table (I have not gotten them to do this because I rarely set the table, but I do have them bring me their bowls or get out their spoons. I usually load up everything in the kitchen.)Feed and water pets (this is now almost always the boy's job)

Run errands around the house (definitely starting to take advantage of this more, just getting them to put things away for me or bring me things...not like I sit around eating bonbons and ordering them around:) )

Help put groceries away (this is another thing that I have recently gotten the boys to do, though most of our food goes on the cabinet that they cannot reach, but they enjoy making towers of food on the counter.)

Play at sweeping and gardening (got the boys to pull weeds for me this fall and they are pretty good!)

Pull up bed clothes (??I think this means doing the first steps of making your bed but we do not make beds in our house unless we have company or I just washed the sheets:). Before you judge me for this, let me share that apparently it keeps dust mites away to leave your bed unmade because it airs out the sheets! I know, I know. I really just don't make them up out of laziness and not being a naturally neat person.)

Get out and put away shoes (definitely have the boys do this one)
At ages four to six, add:

Wipe tables and counters (had the boys dusting today and Joshua even cleaned three bathroo
Sinks!)

Help make beds (already covered this)

Put away clothes (after some practice and putting clothes in places they can reach, both boys can completely do this alone)

Carry things to and from car (the boys like this chore when I tell them how strong they are and make it seem like a bigger job than it is)

Take clothes out of dryer (another favorite)

Clear some dishes from table after meal (they put away their dishes, but I could definitely get them to help more)

Fold towels and washcloths (after one or two lessons last year, Joshua had this skill down, so I just need to make more use of it)

Help on simple cooking skills (I do not do this much with the boys, but should!)

Water plants (both boys did well with this over the summer)

Put clothes in proper light or dark basket (we only have one for their stuff)

Help vacuum or sweep or dust (need to work on this)

Help with younger kids (the boys are pretty good about this except I do not trust gray alone with Julia!)

Wash the floor with help (I use a steam mop and Joshua could probably handle this)

Put dishes in dishwasher (yep)

Help wash and dry dishes (could work on this)

Measure soap and start dishwasher (both boys help with this)

Empy dishwasher and stack dishes on counter (covered already)

Hang up towel and Washcloth after bath (think I will put hooks in the new house because a towel bar is a little challenging for them)

Fix self simple lunch (what?! This was the only revelation for me..I will have to think on that. So far they can get themselves water and sometimes milk and Joshua gets his own yogurt, but lunch would be a stretch!)

Side note, something not mentioned here that the boys do is take sheets off their beds and bring to laundry room.
If there is anything you also get your kids to do or ways to make some of this go easier, please share!

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me on this long list and hope those with little ones are encouraged to get cracking on teaching them to be your little helpers!

What Have We Here?

In with the new

It's the first workweek of the new year. We've done some hanging out and playing with the kids and now Matt's back at work and will start his regular schedule tomorrow. Besides having Matt around, the best thing about his altered schedule has been not making his breakfast/lunches to take with him! I don't know why, but it's a dreaded chore for me. Look out if my kids end up in public school, huh? 4 lunches to make every day instead of one! Anyway, some of the day today I have spent rearranging and adding in some nice hand-me-downs from Barnette and Cindy's old house (Thanks, B&C). Here are some pictures of the additions:

This is a little coat hook shelf thing that Matt got me for Christmas at my request. It's at the boys' height so they can hang up their own coats and get them down instead of depending on me or throwing them on the floor!
On the right is a cute little shelf that is white with some silver etching. I put up a couple of the fall leaf pictures I took of Julia since I would have to rearrange the ones of the boys in our room in order to fit her 4 on the wall. Figured in the "new house" I can find a space for all 3 sets.
Close up of the shelf and a lamp we were given to replace a broken one.
A touch of girliness to Julia's room! I'm not sure how I like keeping the green curtains in the middle because they are shorter than the pink, but I do like the color combination. Funny that the reason Cindy gave away these curtains was because they are too short for the window in their new house. Our windows are the same height as theirs:0) Obviously one of us has a little more decorating sense than the other, but who's comparing! I like them anyway.
We also gained a play kitchen from the move, which the kids have obviously enjoyed so far.
I got several paintings, but did not take pictures of them all. I really like the colors in this one...and the fact that it takes up space on what used to be a very blank wall.
I had all our hand me down clothes in these boxes, which are now piled on the other part of the closet, waiting for "the move". It's even more that it seems because a lot of them are inside each other. But....
Here and there I gathered some plastic boxes, the final ones being a Christmas gift from my parents, and look how neatly everything fits now! Looks soo much better. Ignore my claw looking hand. It was hard to get the whole shelf in the picture.
We added to our This End Up collection (all of which come from B&C), which we love because they are so durable and look fine even with scratches. This bookshelf is great for organizing our shoes and the room especially looks nice when it's warm and we don't have to put Pogo's crate in here. I also moved around some curtains from other parts of the house and took down the bright red ones, which makes the room look totally different.
More This End Up! Our office was transformed from a mismatched room with cheap, short random furniture pieces into a nice space that the kids use to do crafts, read, legos, games, etc.
Another view of the office with our second bookshelf.
More curtains! I love this red striped ones as opposed to the sage ones we previously had that blended into the wall too much. Got a couple of pillows, too, since they are a perfect match to our colors. Thanks for all the stuff, B&C!
Another view of the new curtains. Yep, they're too short also, but still like them! And you can barely see our hand me down rug. We like hardwood floors, but it's been nice to comfortably sit on the floor. Did I mention I love hand me downs?

Birthday Buddies!

We had a fun time celebrating Barnette's and Julia's birthdays last night at Matt's parents' new house.

Pretty party hat, but Julia's having none of it!

Pretty birthday girl!

Love this picture of the birthday boy and grandsons!

Thanks for helping us celebrate, Stewarts!

More Stewarts!

The kids were helping Julia open her presents while she looked on, sort of interested, mostly sleepy!

Jackson and Joshua loved opening the gifts!

Julia got a riding toy that she enjoyed being pushed on.

And she got a sweet baby doll, some fun stacking cups, a pretty plate, and a zoo play set. Thanks, everyone!!