1.28.2009 - Wordless Wednesday 4

Posted in General Day to Day

1.21.2009 - Wordless Wednesdays 1, 2, & 3

Posted in General Day to Day

I missed the first 2 Wednesdays, oh well, don't sweat the small stuff, right? This is one of those times to apply flylady's "You are never behind. Jump in where you are." happy thought.

I like, no, love, the idea of Project365, but I'm forgetful, and just plain busy, busier than many, I dare say. I do like to take pictures though, mostly of my kids, and mostly every day, so I think I ought to be able to handle once a week.

Baby boy is 3 months old today- wow, what a whirlwind. He is such a sweet baby, so full of smiles, you know, the contagious kind.

Enough words, the rest should be/may be wordless...

Enjoying them,

because of Him-

ali

12.20.2008 - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Winter

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Freezing rain is not my friend. I once spun across 3 lanes of I35 trying to drive home in the freezing rain. My neck still suffers the effects of the impact that stopped said spinning. If the words freezing rain are uttered in a forecast, I 'hunker down' and do not emerge from our cozy dwelling until necessary, and until the roads are safely navigable.

Monday's freezing rain, followed by bitter cold, brought the added pleasure of having to chip our way into the vehicles, fun stuff. Mental note- just because the doors finally come open doesn't mean the windows will open, this makes things awkward when attempting to grab some 'fast food', one more reason not to be buying fast food...

But the trees- they were a sight to behold. When the sun shone through it was like living in some magical crystal world, so amazingly beautiful, and so impossible to fully capture on film or video. The neatest thing about this week's freezing rain was the fact that the trees looked like this for days. I don't think ours melted until Thursday afternoon sometime, when it got to a balmy 20 something degrees. (Oh, and it did not make it up to 4 degrees on Monday, in fact it did not make it up to zero. I think we made it to 4 on Tuesday...)

And here we are with another winter storm in our neck of the woods (along with most of the rest of our state, and several others). We've got wood to keep the homefires burning, soup fixings to keep the crock pots busy, popcorn to pop, and a closet full of games to keep active minds occupied- another round of Set, anyone? Oh, and yarn. We have yarn, there is always something to knit around here.

Baby notes: At 2 months old tomorrow, baby Joseph is growing like a weed and has started aggressively sucking/gnawing on hands- my oldest had 2 teeth at 2 months, this could be the beginning of teething already. He is congested, but holding his own with the cold bug that has hit our home- a definite plus to late and large babies, they're hardy. He is a spoiled little sweetie, who definitely prefers sleeping in my arms to any cradle or criblike bed meant for babies. This has resulted in a further decrease in productivity for myself, as well as more than a few achy muscles, but he's cute, and this time goes by way too fast, so I'll continue to indulge him for a little while longer.

Enjoying the winter wonderland (though I could do without the nasty wind chills). How's the weather where you are?

Enjoying them,

because of Him,

ali

6.14.2008 - Spring Piano Recital- May 2008

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She's only had a couple lessons a month this past school year- but with more practicing at home, she's really coming along... 

He's only had a couple lessons a month as well, but he's really starting to enjoy playing...

And this one was so much fun for them- and fun for us to see them playing together and enjoying it!

With half of my children playing both piano and violin, it is rarely quiet in this house!  Make a joyful noise...

Enjoying them,

because of Him-

ali

5.13.2008 - A Little Health Drama, Anyone?

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5.13.2008 - Pneumonia Update

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Just a quick note- Grace's followup appointment went well.  Her lungs sounded clear, praise the Lord, another episode passed and now a thing of the past.

Her pediatrician was none-too-pleased with the fact that the ER nurse told me I could keep her home with O2 stats in the 80's, low 80's even.  It's not good for a body to be deprived of oxygen for so many hours so many nights in a row... every organ in our bodies needs that oxygen... sigh... my poor sweetie. 

She made it through just fine, but I'll be bringing her in every time she dips and lingers in the 80's from now on.  If they send us back home, so be it.  If she gets oxygen for 2 or 3 hours, well that's more than she would've had laying at home with low stats all night... If she ends up admitted, we'll just have to deal with the inconvenience of it all- nothing we haven't done before.

At any rate- today is a good day!

ali

5.3.2008 - No Naps Yet...

Posted in General Day to Day

Yesterday (Friday) was actually a pretty good day for Gracie.  She coughed a bit, but not very often (which, can actually be a bad sign sometimes, she needs to cough it up to clear it up), she did get easily winded when running around the house playing with her siblings, but her stats stayed up in the low to mid 90's for the day. 

She kept running up to me, breathing fast and loud, to tell me that she feels fine and isn't sick anymore... I can hear otherwise...

She has been on the oral steroids and antibiotic since Tuesday morning, and the inhaled steroids and bronchodilators since Monday, when she first complained of pain when she breathes, one would think that would be enough medication to nip this thing in the bud, yet this saga continues.

I came very, very close to bringing her back in to the ER last night (which would have made 3 times in one week).   By the time I got the other girls down to bed and was ready to give Grace her neb, it was 9:30.  She was still doing just fine and I told her she was doing well enough and had been on her meds long enough to be able to go sleep in her own bed after her neb (she's been sleeping on the floor next to me, I've been sleeping on the couch next to her).  I put the pulse oximeter on her finger and sat with her during her neb. 

She started out at a whopping 97%, for a minute, then 96, then 95... I started to wonder how far it would dip.  By the time the neb was done she had dipped down to 90%, which seemed odd after doing so well all day.  I didn't feel comfortable sending her up to bed, so I had her lay down right where she was on the living room floor.  She was very sleepy and drifted right off, as her O2 stat drifted right down to the mid 80's again.  Then all the way down to 81%- that's too low.  I was starting to panic, and dreading another late night run to the ER (it was now 10 pm) when she coughed a bit and changed position a bit and her O2 came up to 86%, still not good, but not quite panic level. 

After about 15 more minutes and no improvement I decided to try the wonderdug Duoneb, which did great Wed night/Thurs morning.  I had only been about 45 mintes since her last neb, but they've told me if she's not responding that it is okay to 'stack nebs' and do one right after another, if need be.  Well, I figured close to an hour with O2 stats in the 80's called for more meds.  It did nothing.  No change, zip, nada, nothing.  I thought (hoped) maybe the Duoneb takes a while to kick in.

I decided to call the ER and talk to a triage nurse before running in, especially after being sent back home twice already this week.  Her stats always seem to come up into the safe zone after waking up and walking about... I thought, do I wake her up every hour all night long? to get her stats back up every hour?  It took a while for the nurse to call me back, by the time we chatted Grace's O2 level had been in the 80's for about 2 hours...

I explained our week, and our current evening's issues.  She said the Duoneb should have some effect right away.  So why didn't it?  No one knows.  She also said that as long as she was sleeping and not waking up and/or sitting up gasping for air that she really didn't need to be on oxygen... I'm not so sure how I feel about that.  I've had 2 doctors say she needs O2 whenever she spends any amount of time below 92% and I've had another doctor say that it's okay to dip to 88 or 89%, as long as she's sleeping comfortably.  But now I'm being told that even mid to low 80's is okay?  She conceded that it obviously wasn't ideal, that Grace was obviously sick, but said she didn't think she was in any danger.  She added that if she dipped into the 70's at all, get her to the ER.  How much better is 81 stinking percent than 79??!!

We need to get back in to see the pulmonologist or respiratory therapist, where I will ask many questions, including where to draw the line.  I think I am wanting to get some marching orders from the specialists, so I'll just know yes, take her in, or no, she's okay for now, from someone who specializes in pediatric respiratory issues rather than a triage nurse who seemed to think that mid 80's was an okay oxygen level for a child to be at for the night...

After another hour her O2 came up to 90%.  It slowly climbed though the night, and was at 95% by 6 am.  I got some sleep the second half of the night, but not enough for optimal functioning, if you know what I mean...

She's been acting pretty normal today, for a child on steroids- rambunctious, kinda rude and whiny, and not exactly the easiest child to get along with...  This too, shall pass, I know... I'm hoping it passes quickly!  And permanently wouldn't be too bad, either...

Trying to enjoy each and every one of them, wheezes, crackles, and all, 

only by the grace of God,

ali

5.1.2008 - Need a Nap, Now...

Posted in General Day to Day

It's been a tough week. Our 5 yr old daughter is having another battle with the problem known as asthma. It turned to pneumonia fast and furiously Monday night. We ended up in the ER early Tuesday morning (her O2 was down to 84% overnight and she wasn't responding well to her nebs). Her O2 level came up, and then dipped back down, but not as far, while we were there, so she wasn't admitted this time (to be on oxygen). She did, however, get yet another chest x-ray to confirm the presence of pneumonia in her left lung, upper lobe. We were sent home to add antibiotics and oral steroids to the inhaled steroids, allergy meds and bronchodilators she was already on.

I hardly slept Monday night, slept a bit Tuesday night, and about 3 hours Wednesday night, or more technically, this morning. We ended up going back to the ER last night after her stats dropped back down into the mid 80's. (We have a pulse oximeter at home, thanks to too many trials like this one.) They used a different med in a neb at the hospital and her stats stayed up a bit better, so we came home around 4:45 this morning... (though the pneumonia had spread to now 3 lobes of 2 lungs) and with 5 more children at home all day, every day (we homeschool) I was up by 8, though I would have liked to have slept until noon...

4.23.2008 - Spring to-do List, part 1

Posted in General Day to Day

• knit something
• dream about getting chickens
• read a classic book out on a blanket in the sun with kids
• knit something more
• go through pantry, eat or throw food nearing or past expiration date, restock pantry
• bird watching with kids
• knit something
• clean some windows
• try a new cookie recipe
• knit something new

• plan summer field trips
• have fun with kids
• knit some more...

If you notice a week (or two) pass with no blog activity, assume that I'm working on my list!

Enjoying them,

because of Him-

ali

3.18.2008 - Whiter Than...?

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Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7

Out our back door this morning.  White, everything was white, beautiful.

No picnics in our immediate future, but soon, very soon.  It'll happen, just you wait and see.

No climbing and sliding today, maybe tomorrow...

How pretty is that?!  Snow covered weeds make me smile.  I love simple pleasures.

So crisp, white, and delicate.  You don't see that every day, even in Minnesota.

I love having these pines right out back, especially when they're covered in fluffy white stuff.

Don't the big kid rope and toddler/baby swing look lonely?  Soon there will be swinging, soon.

A view up through the trees, with snow falling in clumps all around me...

So pretty.

This guy won't be ridden any time soon...

And this poor fella wasn't really needed today... this snow didn't last long.  It never does this time of year.  That's what makes it so special, it's so fleeting...

With all the kids sick, there were no outings today, and hence, no need to scrape of the van...

Picture heavy post, I know, but it was so beautiful out this morning and I just had to share.  Snow is an amazing thing.  So pure and white (except for the mud-plattered stuff on the side of the highway...)  I love that the Bible uses snow as a picture of what we can be when washed by the blood of the Lamb.  Do you see that whiteness?!  The Lord is good to us!

Enjoying them (my children),

because of Him (my Savior),

ali

3.1.2008 - Sooooo Big!

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My littlest girl is getting sooo big!

Enjoying them,

because of Him,

ali

12.6.2007 - Let it Snow!

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"This is what a Minnesota winter is supposed to be like!  Now for the bad news; it's still fall!  Even though winter doesn't officially begin for another 2 weeks, we all know that the calendar is nothing more than a guide when it comes to the seasons around here.  After all we average our first inch of snow cover a month before winter even begins!  The snow will taper to flurries Tuesday night with a cold day on tap for Wednesday.  We should stay below average in the temperature department most of this week with highs struggling to reach the low 20s and overnight lows dropping into the single digits above and below zero."

Winter Wonderland, right outside our back door... The snow has finally arrived, and with the cold temps, it looks as though it is here to stay!  I won't be so excited about it in 3 or 4 months... but for now it's new and exciting.  The kids can't seem to get enough of it...

The one that didn't get to go out and play...

We're enjoying plenty of play time around here as we're a bit house-bound at the moment and have been for a while... we had a van... there was a deer... a large, male, deer... the deer didn't make it... and the van is in recovery.  Nothing serious, no internal injuries, some front end damage and a dinged up side (from the ricocheting deer... ugh)  And, well, apparently these things don't fix themselves overnight, and our small town collision repair shop isn't exactly in a big hurry... anyway, no outings for us this past couple weeks- plenty of time to hit the books, and tromp in the snow, and I mustn't forget the cocoa!  Mmmm...

I'm planning on a new adventure in lapbooking soon, maybe we'll even start tomorrow.  We've been studying the early colonies, and we've stalled out on Jamestown in particular.  There is so much fun stuff out there to do and see and read about, I just can't move on without getting to a few projects!  And I think my recently turned 5 year old, who's beginning her phonics study might like to make  a lapbook or 2 or 3, featuring her letter sounds!  Fun stuff!

Off to plan,

Enjoying them,

because of Him-

ali

11.14.2007 - Math, Music, and Another Busy Week

Posted in General Day to Day

Math at our house... does this count as relaxed homeschooling?

  This past Saturday we hosted our 5th annual Fall Soup Party.  It was smaller than some (we've had upwards of 75 people over in past years) with only 31 people (in addition to our family's 8!) but that was to be expected as the invites went out late due to concerns about the viral crud that was sweeping through our home... A great time was still had, and several great soups were enjoyed, but alas, we have no proof... the camera sat out, batteries charged, ready to go... and was completely neglected the entire day... oh well, it will live on in memories, right?

  Monday (2 days ago...) the boys had their first Homeschool Orchestra concert of the year.  What a night!  It is always quite the production to pull that off with all those kids at all those varying levels (they combine the advanced orchestra with the beginners for the concerts) performing music they've only been working on for a few weeks... There were definitely rough spots, but there were bright and shiny spots as well.  The music they chose was quite challenging and it was fun to see them give it their best shot.

Jaron, 8, has been playing just over a year.

Ian, 14, started playing at 9, this is his 3rd year with the Homeschool Orchestra

  My kids are always so inspired after a concert... The next morning, Jaron came down and wanted to start practicing his violin before breakfast (I did convince him to eat something first...) and he wanted to up his practice time from 30 minutes (he's only 8 years old) to a full 60 minutes, which he did, and then  some.  Even 14 year old Ian, upped his time from 60 minutes to 75, with some of that time spent working together with Jaron on orchestra pieces.  Later Liberty got to her practicing and Jaron got out his violin again to play some with her!  I already have two young violin coaches/teachers for my young girls- it may not be so hard to get them playing after all... (I've had my days when I wonder how I will fit in overseeing 6 children practicing violin for an hour a day... that's not to mention piano practice!  Who has an extra 12 hours a day for that?!  Not me...)

The rest of this week is sure to fly by- we have revival meetings at church every night Thursday through Sunday... busy times, a lot of driving, but always well worth it!

Enjoy the rest of your week, and as always, enjoy your children!

Enjoying them,

because of Him,

ali

11.6.2007 - A Productive Day, A Pleasant Evening

Posted in General Day to Day

I really do love days like today.  Days when things come together and run pretty smoothly- not perfect (that really never happens, now does it?) but really, really, smoothly.

We had hoemschooling friends up for some cooping, and we accomplished far more than one would expect considering the sheer number of preschoolers, toddlers, and babies we had scrambling around in between all the bigger ones.  We began the day with a short spanish lesson, reviewing some basic nouns (door, table, window, etc...) and introducing the ever-important 'please' and 'thank-you'.  Then we spent some time getting handprints and footprints of all the kids to add to their geneology books 'about me'.  Next we spent a productive hour mapping 2 more states as we move across the country, 2 states at a time (it was Pennsylvania and West Virginia this week...)  Then for some science study about our fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, we took a closer look at our eyes- playing with light and watching the pupils get large and small, boy, the kids were all so fascinated by that!  Then we did an 'experiment' with a magnifying glass and some tracing paper (acting as our retina) and looking towards something light, they saw the image on the tracing paper the way it is projected onto our retinas- upside down, again, fascinating for younger minds , and the 13-14 year olds were pretty impressed as well... in fact, the moms all got a kick out of that one too.  I think one of the other moms got some good pictures where you can even see the image upside down... I may have to blog about that experimnt, if I ever get a chance... don't hold your breath... but maybe...

Let's see... after a lunch break we moved on to art.  The younger ones are working on nice and realistic coloring.  The older ones are starting a drawing course using "Drawing With Children"- I'm looking forward to seeing what a difference this makes in our young artists work...  Next we had a brief review of safety rules for our woodworking unit, discussing what makes a good work environment, etc... the kids are getting eager to actually get their hands on some wood and some tools!  I'd better restock the first-aid kit, just in case someone wasn't listening today... 

And lastly we worked on our salt dough maps of the original 13 colonies (for week 20, Tapestry of Grace Year 2) and we'll be spending the week talking about (and reading about!) Jamestown and just about anything and everything having to do with it...

After everyone had cleared out the kids got busy cleaning up what was left, and then some!  Yay!  By beavers got busy!  Just the way I like them!  All the while smelling the tantalizing smell coming from the crock pot- the roast and veggies that I actually managed to get in before our cooping day ever started!  (That is a major accomplishment for me- I thought ahead, and made it happen, Flylady woudl be proud!)

After a very filling meal (Daddy even made it home to join us!) the dishes got done and the games came out.  Everyone was quite content to gather together in the great room (I'm not a big fan of family members disappearing, off into their own rooms, etc...) and play giant checkers, Connect Four, a little Boggle, etc... but the best time was had a short while later when the teenager pulled out the Mad-Libs and Mom and Dad were the ones filling in the parts of speech.  I laughed so hard I cried at one point... That is one of the funniest things we do together as a family... and we just love it every time!  What a riot!  I can just hear it now- teenager meets new friend- 'so, what do you like to do for fun?' 'um, well, I like to do Mad-Libs with my Mom and Dad'...  (This coming from a girl who grew up in a family where we would get up and look things up in the encyclopedia whenever nobody knew the answer to some oddball question, and then we would end up reading on into the next several articles/entries... fun times...  you can learn a lot that way!)

Then we shooed them all off to bed, and here I sit, with a satisfied feeling of a mother who really poured into her children today.  We had fun together, we learned together, we fellowshipped with friends together, we communed (ate) together, we cleaned up (worked) together, and we played together.  Can you sense my theme?  Together.  We were together.  I am so thankful that in this time of busyness and in this world of distractions, that we can still have days like today- it was a busy day, it was a productive day, and it was a really, really sweet, heart-string tying kind of day.  My family is close-knit because we have days like today.  My goal is to keep it that way!

Looking forward to the rest of the week,

Enjoying them,

because of Him,

ali

10.30.2007 - Days Go By...

Posted in General Day to Day

  And more days go by... and weeks... even months.

  I assure you, I am still here... I thought our late summer was busy- then early fall hit... and the teenager got his first taste of organized sports (in other words, I became a soccer mom) and we've had to learn to juggle schedules in a whole new way.  Trying to get enough 'learning into him' (and the rest of them coming up behind him) and still managing to get to practice on time, was quite challenging.  Throw in Orchestra on Mondays, friends coming over to coop on Tuesdays, and an extra field trip here and there, and, well, when's a girl to blog?  I won't even mention cook supper or keep up with the laundry, except that I just did... well... I'm working on it!

  The latest news is the crummy cough turned bronchitis (yours truly) and now the dreaded stomach bug.  When my 2 year old lost her lunch I thought it was just the cough; she's got it too, which, along with her asthma, will often result in the phlegm/cough/gag/puke phenomenon.  But then she did it again, and I knew we were in for it... Then it was Grace's turn, and boy did she take it to the next level- over 36 hours with nothing kept down- not even a teaspoon of Gaterade (lost it in a few minutes) and very little 'potty'.  When she got super lethargic and rather listless yesterday, I figured that since the teaspoon at a time thing wasn't working and it had been so long, I'd better take her in.  Her labs looked okay, so she wasn't to the point of needing IV fluids (yay!) and they just gave her some Zofran and observed her for a while to she if she could keep down the apple juice I had to give her a few cc's at a time...  She slept good and hard after we got home, and still does not have any appetite back, but she is keeping down fluids, finally, after 48 hours of not.

  Soccer is now finished, they came in 3rd at the final tournament.  And, to my amazement, Dad has consented to dear son playing basket ball- this could get interesting.

  Oh, and Mercy is almost an entire year old!!!  How'd that happen?!  Seriously, it was so fast!  Isn't it always?  Cherish those first years, mommies!

Gotta go, still busier than busy around here-

As always-

Enjoying them,

because of Him,

ali