Renner, mom of Terk (14yo boy), Katy (12 yo girl), Tiny (9 yo girl), Shorty ( 7 yo girl ), Boss (5yo boy), Spanky (5yo girl), Little Bud (2yo boy) and Little Bit (born 4/7/09), wife to my Baby, & Step-mom to two wonderful young people http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:29:00 -0500 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:29:00 -0500   This is from my friend, Lynette's blog.  It is supposed to be a Wednesday blog post, but this is Saturday and I have time. **** So I don't forget......A few weeks ago, she suggested we talk about the first house/appt./abode we had when first married.  My Baby and I lived in a duplex that I currently drive by just about everytime I leave my house.  It was two bedrooms.  Had hard wood floors throughout.  Nice sized livingroom, for just the two of us, probably for more if we had stayed there longer.  The kitchen was also the dining area and the laundry.  We lived there for about two years.  Terk was born in the front bedroom.   It was actually a nice place to start out.  **** When we moved, we moved in with my parents.  That was a mistake, but we grew from the experience.  I would say our marriage was stronger due to the stretching that time with my family and the four years afterwards caused. **** Shortly before we left, my dh was doing some work for the landlords under the house and discovered that the previous owners or someone had decided to just disconnect the drain line for the bath tub on the other side and let it drain under the building.  Can we say,,, EWWWW!  YUCK!!!  It was moldy.  On top of that, the exhaust/ air return for the heater was under the house.  No wonder we all had colds all the time, it was probalby actually a reaction to all the mold under there. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/728525/ Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/728525/ He doesn't have a nickname yet, although I sometimes refer to him as TyTy which is short for his middle name of Tyler.  He was 7# 8oz at birth which was 3 weeks early.  Due to my developing Anti-D antibodies the doctors decided that inducing would be the best course since he was concidered term.  ******************************* The induction went smooth with minimum of pitocen and moderate pain.  We started at about 6:20pm with the pit and he was born at 1:58 am.  Except for an audience of 20 (or so it felt) it was a wonderful birth.  If we have more, I'll ask for 24 hours to get things going on my own.  If that isn't possible,  I'll request less people in the delivery room than this time. * TyTy is well loved by his siblings: Little Bud (2yo) Boss (5yo) Zack (14yo) * When TyTy was 6 days old his bilirubin was over 20 and thus we were headed back to the hospital.  There he was put under 4 lights and not allowed to be removed even for feedings for the first 24 hours.  They also insisted that he be given formula since breastmilk can occasionally agrivate jaundice.  This was so hard, especially as they tried to get their vials of blood and insert the IV's.  He sure was a cute little glow worm though. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/700172/ Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/700172/ Well, I survived Robotics competition season.  Terk and Tiny participated with our local homeschool team and they won first place over all for the Expert catagory.  Also, Terk was a part of the presentation team, having to deliver a 2 minute speach in front of a three judge panel.  I was not able to watch it live, but did see the video later.  He was the best presenter from his team, at least in my opinion. * I have made two items for the baby, a hooded blanket and a hat.  I am working on another hat.  I've also made some wash clothes, but I can't really call them "for the baby" although I intend to only use them for the baby. * The other items on my New Years Goal list have not been followed through on.  sorry to anyone who is following this. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/675334/ Thu, 2 Apr 2009 17:07:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/675334/ Okay, so I made it through the 2008 Presidential election and didn't kill anyone.  I even refrained from venting my feelings here or on any of the message boards I visit.  My dh had the honor of listening to my feelings, well, and my mom. * As a new years starts, I've decided to set goals, not make resolutions.  Goals seem so much easier to pick up again if you "fail" whereas we get this idea we are a failior if we slip up on our resolutions. * Read through the New Testament once this year, plus the book of Psalms twice.  I'd like to also read through the book of Proverbs with the children as part of school. Crochet a few things for MY baby.  I've made many baby things over the years, but very few for my 8 babies.  One blanket that I can remember.  This will be #9 when placed in our arms in April.  For now he/she resides under my heart and makes it hard to breath at times. Use the Wii daily for some form of activity.  I love to bowl on it.  I'm hoping someone decides to get me the Wii Fit for Mother's day.  I'll be just about ready to start working on a new goal weight about that time, being a couple weeks out from delivery. Keep the kitchen clean and teach the children to clean it properly, plus the three oldest need to learn to cook at least a little.  I also think it isn't expecting too much to think that the 5yo's and the 6yo can learn to make their own sandwiches. Blog at least weekly about our life. Survive Robotics competition season.  It starts this Saturday. * Well, that is about all for now.  We are doing well, for the most part  Dh needs more work and I have to do our taxes this month.  YUCK!!!!  i dread it, but know that the sooner I get it done, the better.     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/641547/ Mon, 5 Jan 2009 14:23:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/641547/ From left:  Tiny, Shorty, Boss, Spanky, Katy, Terk holding Little Bud.  We were visiting a park in the center of our town with a walking path through some "woods".  These same paths were frequented by my dh with his bike as a child, in fact, alot of the paths were formed at that time by bike riders.  Today there is a sign stating that bikes are not allowed per a city ordinance.  It is a shame what things have come to, although I'm not sure I'd like to be walking along those pathes when a bicyclist came racing through.  These are narrow, dirt paths, not wide paved paths that are often concidered bike paths. Maybe someday, I'll actually start keeping this updated, but I wanted to post a current pictures of my "babies" for all to enjoy. And to update, Spanky and Boss had a birthday about 2 weeks ago, so are now 5.  I now have three more birthday's before Christmas.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/608445/ Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/608445/ My dear little girl, Spanky here, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on Friday. This journey began when I took her to our family doctor on Thursday, August 14th for an unrelated issue and they ran a blood panel. She was found to have blood glucose rating of 350. She was showing no typical symptoms of high blood sugar though, so we thought it might be a fluke. We determined that we would test for fasting sugar on Monday, since it was late Friday when the test results came back. Her fasting sugar was 87, so we thought we were okay. The Wednesday, the 20th, the PA calls again to tell me that her A1C level is 8.? , it was 8.5 or 8.7 I think. The A1C is used to try and determine an average sugar for the last three months. Normal is 5 or below. * The doctor's office referred us to an endocrinologist, who called me at 8 am on Thursday morning to come in as soon as I could get there. Sure enough, based on her sugar numbers they said she definitely had Type 1 diabetes and would need to take insulin shots and use a glucometer four times per day. So, since Thursday evening I've been giving her four shots and four finger prick per day. Sometime more on the finger pricks, depending if I think she might be getting low or it has been a while since a meal. * They gave me very little education about what to do for her meals, but my mom and I are going to a three-day class starting Monday. My best friend, who lives about 7 hours drive from me, is coming to watch my children. She has a son who was diagnosed two years ago, so knows how to do shots and finger sticks. She knows hot to watch for low sugars and how to feed someone with diabetes. I am so blessed by this friend. We've been best friends since we were 14yo despite being 7 hours apart for most of that time. I am blessed that her husband is allowing this and willing to watch her other children, with the help of her two oldest who are 15 & 14yo. She is bringing her daughter who is Katy's age. * I've been doing allot of reading and am trying to decide just how much I'm going to buck the system and the American Diabetes Association's recommendations on this one. My goal is to for Spanky's blood sugars to always be as close to normal as possible but for her to have enough energy to live and grow. I'm looking into following the recommendations of Dr. Richard Bernstein. Here is his website: * Someone also recommended reading and following this:   * Dr. Bernstein's recommendations would be allot easier on our pocket books, since he is basically advocating a low carb diet to eliminate or at least reduce the need for insulin to "cover the carbs". The items recommended at the other site are expensive. We shall see. First I go for the three-day class offered by our Endocrinologist. http://www.cancertutor.com/Diabetes/Diabetes_Type_I.htm http://www.diabetes-book.com/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/579455/ Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/579455/   Well, I’ve been composing this post in my head for weeks. I’ve been confronted multiple times by family members, both well meaning and those of questionable meaning, about getting one of my children tested by "professionals" to see if this child has a syndrome. There have been a couple of friends who have confronted me also, but they had just had their child tested and "diagnosed" and were so deep in their own research that they seemed to be seeing "monsters under every bed". I’m tired of it. This is where I begin to doubt my decisions and wonder if maybe I should get this child tested. Then I speak to others and they don’t really know what I’m talking about, they love this child and think highly of her/him. * In considering this over the years, and it has been years as the first person brought this up about 7 years ago, DH and I have decided that whatever our child’s "problems" they are working themselves out with our help as we raise him/her. This child had a brother diagnosed with, treated for and dies from cancer when they were young. Could this be part of the "issue"? None of these people who have told me to have my child tested have dealt with a death of a child/sibling at a young age. In fact, for most of these people our son who died was the first person they had lost who was young and close to them, some of them, it was the first person they’d lost that was close to them. * Another issue, most of these people are comparing my child to children the same age who are in public school and whose mom’s work at least part time. My child likes to spend time with his elders and learn from them. S/he likes to play games and talk to his/her grandparents, aunts and uncles, great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles. This child helps the neighbors clean their yards and is praised for their work ethic. * The children my child is being compared to are my cousins and my cousins’ children. These children sit sullenly at family gatherings if there is no activity for them. They snub all of my children, not just the one with the "problem". * These people have spent very little time with my child, with the exception of one. That one is easily swayed by the observations of others. They do not see the changes that have occurred as this child as gotten older and matured. They did not have much contact with this child from age 18 months till age 5 years. When they did regain contact, our family was in the middle of a crisis with our younger son having been diagnosed with cancer. * I know my child. I have researched the "problem". I have looked at the recommended course of treatment. In my opinion, my child does not meet enough markers to be diagnosed. Most of the treatment options would not apply because my child does not have the portions of the problem that can be treated. The one area that might possible benefit from "treatment" I feel we are doing much of what would be done by correcting our child when out of line and informing them of the correct way to handle a situation. * One of the "issues" that often arises is that of lack of social skills and thus lack of ability to function within social circles. This child is involved in a robotics club. They attend church group meetings weekly. They are involved in our homeschool coop. Guess what? When asked, these people think the world of my child. They have observed that this child thinks differently than most, but not badly. This child does have friends within these groups. * In conclusion, I’m tired of people thinking ill of my child, especially people who have not spent the time to get to know this child. This child is "gold", as my DH has put it. I do not expect to have any problems with this child getting into the troubles usually associated with the teen years. I will not do anything differently in the raising of this child. If this child decided when an adult, to get tested, it will be their decision. In the mean time, my goal is to raise a child who is a success as an adult, and being a social success isn’t near as important to me as being a success in the "game" of life and in ethics/ morals. * So, I hope this is the last I have to deal with this subject, but considering the people who constantly approach the issue with me, that is not likely. I will most likely have to bring up the points I made here again. I just hope that I can remember them when it comes right down to it. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/527138/ Sun, 4 May 2008 23:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/527138/ Oh, the joys of having boys. Last night, as we were getting ready to leave for church I sent the kids outside to wait while I finished up a few things in the house and we loaded in the van.  Shorty and Boss come running in to tell me that Boss had a dragon fly go up his nose.  I wish I'd taken pictures of him describing this to me.  He claimed it landed on his nose and he tried to get it off, but it flew up his nose and was now in his brain, tickling him, of course.  When I asked him where it was, he takes his hands and plays them over his forehead, saying it is in his brain.   It was soo incredibly pricelss and I can't remember it all.  Ack!!!!  Need to keep the camara closer and type as they tell me stories.     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/525529/ Thu, 1 May 2008 12:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/525529/ What is it about blogging?  Some people seem to find the time to write such insite that hundreds flock to their site.  Others just want to keep in touch with friends and family, but sometimes find them selves in the limelight when their site link is passed around.  Then there is me.  I want to have a place to record the happenings in our family.  Only I don't take the time.  I spend my online time reading about others lives and neglect the sharing about our family.  I really want to share about our lives. * Another problem I encounter is not wanting to embarass my children or bring shame upon our household. * Recently there was something which happened at an event which I really wanted to vent about here.  I was so hurt and angry but instead of blogging, I hashed it out with my dearest husband.  Part of me still wants to share and I may in the future if I can figure out how without causing hurt to others myself. * So I sit here with Little Bud behind me taking books off the shelf and needing a nap.  I'm actually writing this on paper with pen, planning to type it later.  Spanky is working on a pre-school workbook next to me.  She is trying to learn her numbers.  If I do school with anyone else, she wants to be included.  Life is good around here most of the time, although my own laziness and lack of skill and gumption for housecleaning is frustrating my husband.  Better get off my chair and get something done. Baths need to be taken and food prepared so we can leave by 6:30 for church. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/525076/ Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:28:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/525076/ (I wrote this story to help my son with his writing.  My thought was to write a story using the same information given by his Writing Strands book.  So we were both going to write a story about a kitten raised by a duck.  His is better than mine.  I'll post mine now, and ask him for his later.) * Miss Tabby lived in a barnyard where she was being raised by a duck named Mama.  Mama had found Miss Tabby in the barn with her eyes still closed and had taken her under her wing to raise along with her four ducklings.  The issue of what to feed MIss Tabby had perplexed Mama, for Miss Tabby turned her nose up at corn. Mama was able to enlist the help of the farmer's daughter to feed Miss Tabby milk. * One afternoon Miss Tabby fell in line behind Mama and the ducklings on a trip to the pond.  As Mama and the ducklings entered the water, Miss Tabby started to follow.  She put one paw in, but the sensation of water was just so Yucky!  She extended her second paw but that water felt the same.  Miss Tabbby decided to wait for Mama and the ducklings on the shore and investigate her surroundings. * A field mouse surprised Miss Tabby as she investigated.  Wow, what a fun toy!  The mouse tried to run for cover but Miss Tabby was persistant in her chase.  The ducklings looked on in wonder and curiousity. * Soon Mama quaked and Miss Tabby and the ducklings fell in line for the walk home.  All were ready for dinner and bed. * (So, what do you think?) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/484828/ Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:50:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/rennersplace/484828/