Gideon Update

On a happy note, Gideon had his development evaluation and the Physical Therapist confirmed that he's about 2-3 months behind his typical peers in regards to crawling but she also feels that it was due to being sick so long (I KNEW it!) and that he will catch up very quickly on his own. We have a recheck set up in about a month. If he is still not crawling then he will have some therapy to help him out. I don't see that happening as he is very nearly there. Up on his knees, rocking back and forth, reaching for toys on his hands and knees, going from hands and knees to sitting and back again. He does tire easily and the PT did comment on that so I am supposed to help encourage him to stay longer periods on his hands and knees to help build his stamina.

On a sour note, the moronic idiotic just plain stupid (I am trying to be nice) insurance company has rejected the doctor's referral to a nutritionist. Apparently they don't feel that a was-less-than-one-year-old suffering from weight loss and with a newly diagnosed whey protein allergy should see a nutritionist. Well, it's not the first time that TriCare (oops, did I just reveal who I was dealing with here?) has refused to pay for something. In fact, after reading over a pile of EOBs that came in the mail the other day I'm starting to wonder if they pay for much of anything at all. I think they need to rename themselves to FailCare. I've had many insurance companies in my life and TriCare so far ranks as the worst. I won't go into all of what I have been through with them because this is Gideon's update post. Shutting up now. About that anyway.

Gideon has a cold. Or environmental allergies. But his very sniffly nose started in the middle of the night and I don't know how likely that is for allergies. Poor guy's nose was running a marathon today and his eyes were red and puffy. Just what he needs. Last night he kept waking and crying but falling back to sleep before I went to him and it sounds like we're in for that again tonight. He has kept his appetite though and I am excited for his next weight check on the 7th. He looks like he has gained weight and I'm not the only one to notice.

Well, I am yawning fool to stay up so late (again) but at least I got a very important knitting project done (pictures later as usual) and then got to work on a new knitting project that I started today. This new one is a snazzy scarf made from ribbon yarn that will have rows of dropped stitches. This will be more for warmish weather and was inspired by the colors of the yarn that goes from bright blue to maroon to orange to sage which actually sounds kind of yucky in writing. I'll get pics up of that soon too. When I have time (translation: when I next choose to neglect household chores, kids or other projects).

He'd Better Not!

I had a dream last night that Rob was home! Woohoo! He was home and we went to a museum. Just the two of us. While we were on a tour and looking at ancient artifacts Rob suddenly pulls out a cigarette. When I scold him for smoking near such valuable items - or for smoking at all, he told me that he picked up the habit and that's what he does now and I would just have to deal with it. He said a number of other rude things all the while telling me that I would just have to accept the new him. Then I woke up. Whew! What a horrible dream. I do have to say one thing Jerk-Rob was a much better dresser. ;)

Happy Birthday, Gideon!

Technically Gideon doesn't turn 1 until Tuesday but he enjoyed a wonderful party today. At least I thought it was wonderful. Here at the end of the day as the kids are in bed and the dishwasher is loaded my mind goes back to why I named my blog "wellblessed". I think of it frequently actually but today is a perfect example. Was it the most excellent decorations covering every inch of a grand house? No, though the decorations were pretty cute if you ask me. The best gifts in high number? Nope. An expensive cake/catered food/pony rides/clowns? Nope, not those either. What makes us well-blessed is having our friends and family who come and help when we need it and who are there on the special days that we want to share.

Matthew and Nora brought their kids a full two hours early. Matthew slaved away mowing the overgrown yard and Nora helped me with last minute tidying. Later Nora took pictures of this special event so that I could concentrate on other things and still have pictures - what a gift in itself. Jamie and her family ran to the store when they got here just so I could have Gideon's special balloon filled. Once the party started Matthew once again stepped up to man the grill so we could enjoy Polish Dogs, Brats, and terriyaki chicken patties. While Gideon "opened" his gifts Jamie captured all of the cute stuff on my new camcorder so we can send video to Rob. And at one point during the party Bob stepped out to the garage and put in an outlet for me so that I can get a freezer out there. With all this one might think I did nothing the entire time but believe me, I was still one busy lady. One busy lady who got to enjoy her baby's first birthday party, who wasn't stressed with everything that needed to get done and who felt cared for and very well-blessed the whole day. What a lucky family we are to have friends and family like this!

I know that Gideon doesn't understand what a fortunate baby he is to have so many people chip in to make his day special but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He loves company, he loves people in general but especially people who pretty much come just to dote on him. He giggled and played until it was time to eat, opened gifts and actually played with his toys more than the boxes they came in and devoured his cake with fervor then giggled and played some more. Now you are wondering when you get to see the pictures. I bet you are! Well, you'll have to have a little patience. It's late, I'm tired, I still need to get the pics off my camera and see if I can figure out how to get the videos off the camcorder. Soon, soon. I promise! Until then I hope that you will take a moment to count your blessings.

Enter Tooth Fairy Stage Left

So you remember me telling you about Gabe's new loose tooth the other day? Well, guess whose down a tooth as of this afternoon? I took a pic but now I can't find my cord to upload my pictures so I'll post it later. Gabe handled it much better than I expected. When I was working at my sister's daycare a little boy there fainted when he lost his first tooth. I expected something more to that affect but that's not how it went down.

First, I had Bible study this morning so Gabe got to hang out with the cool babysitter there. She commented on how loose his tooth seemed. I couldn't look because for some reason I can't handle loose teeth. They freak me out. I don't know why. In my vet tech days I dreamed over what I was going to have for lunch while observing exploratory surgeries and cleaning out open wounds but for some reason I can't handle loose teeth. Anyway, afterward I ran us through the drive through at Wendy's because I had some errands we needed to get to. On the way to our next stop I hear Gabe very matter of factly state "There's a white thing in my chicken nugget and I think it's my tooth."

So here I sit wondering what the going rate is for a tooth these days. The Tooth Fairy hasn't had to visit our family before. Gabe's tooth lies waiting under his pillow and the Tooth Fairy is stumped. The Tooth Fairy also only has a $20 and is pretty darn sure that a tooth isn't worth that much. Then again, Santa did leave a few things lying around that didn't get given for Christmas. Maybe they can work out a deal.

A Moment - or Two

I reach into the car to unbuckle Zion from Gabe's carseat (a story in itself). She reaches up and puts her hand gently under my chin and turns my face toward hers.

She sweetly says "Wook at me."

"Aw", I'm thinking getting ready for a tender moment between me and my girl.

Then she says just as sweetly "I said no."
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Have I mentioned how much she loves pajamas? She will stay in her pjs all day if I let her. She also likes to change them. Many times each day. If I do dress her in the morning then at naptime she wants to get in pjs again. Many tantrums have occured due to my insistence that she needs to wait until bedtime to get in her pjs again. If I leave a laundry basket unattended and if it has pajamas in it then the next thing I know she's putting them on over her clothes or current pjs or even stripping so that she can change. About a week ago she came in to my room at the crack of dawn stark ravin' naked carrying a new diaper and a new pair of pjs and telling me that she needs help. She does. She needs therapy to get over her pajama obsession!
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Speaking of obsessions, this girl wants yogurt for every meal of the day. I'll ask the kids "what should we have for breakfast/lunch/dinner?" and her certain response is "Yogurt!" Well, I guess sometimes it's "hmmmm, yogurt?" as if she's never heard of such a thing and isn't she just crazy for thinking of it first. Poor thing's little heart is broken every time I tell her she can't have it for lunch or dinner because she already had it for breakfast.

Space Cadet

That's what I am! I totally, totally forgot to pop on and update after Gideon's first post-hospital doctor appointment. His appointment was on Wednesday. Mostly they wanted to get his weight and I am happy to report that he gained 4 ounces! It doesn't sound like much but it is actually more than they were expecting. I also got to tell them that he has been a lot happier since coming home and actually seems to like the soy milk I've been giving him. Additionally, we are all feeling a lot better. It seems like the puking has finally stopped. Woohoo! And my bronchitis and infection are much better.

Gideon has been up on his hands a knees a few times this week and is pulling up on everything. Did I already blog my ponderings as to whether or not his allergy was making him sick enough to not be interested in moving around much even when it wasn't making him sick enough to vomit? We'll likely never know but he does seem to be feeling so much better in general. He's also been extraordinarily ticklish. I can't tell you how happy that makes ME. He's got the greatest giggle in the whole world. I hope to buy a video camera soon (our other one broke) and get some videos online.

SOOC

Ah, remember this? Back a ways I used to participate in Straight Out Of the Camera Saturdays. Well, life happens and sometimes meme hosts take a break and sometimes participants take a break and well, it's just been a while. And it's not Saturday anymore but oh well. You can participate too and check out the other participants by going here - Slurping Life. And here's my entry:

The hard part was picking a picture. I haven't been behind the camera much lately. But this is one of my faves. (Is it cheating if I've posted this pic before?) Gideon and Rob the night before Rob returned to Afghanistan. I just love how he loves his Daddy even though they've been apart for most of Gideon's life. It reminds me that our time is short before Rob comes home for good and that is a happy thought I need to carry with me all the time.

Hang Loose

I don't know why this particular milestone has made me so weepy. I registered Gabe for Kindergarten without even close to shedding a tear, but this? This! Last night I was helping Gabe to brush his teeth. Typically he brushes and then I go over again just to make sure that a good job was done. This time I noticed some white stuff behind one of his front teeth and it wasn't brushing away so I tried to scrape it with the pick end of the flossers we use. Well, lo and behold, it was a new tooth coming in! Sure enough, when I touched the tooth in front of it it wiggled just a little. *gasp* My baby is going to lose his first tooth! What's a mama to do?

Playing Catch Up Photo Style

A while back I promised photos of some of the knitted gifts that I was making. Here is the pacifier keeper given to my friend Jessica for her little-one-to-come. When Zion was a baby I used to pull the corner of a burp cloth through the ring of her paci. The weight of the cloth kept the bink in place, the cloth was a lot easier to find than the little bink should it fall out of her mouth and it also gave something handy to wipe drool and the like. I think this is a lot cuter. It's actually of my own design based on a pattern for a dish towel that I made. I changed the stitches, shortened it, made it on smaller needles...

And here's the little baby kimono also made for Jessica. The ladies at my MOPS table got together and we all participated in giving her a mini-shower at our last meeting (which I missed due to Gideon's hospitalization - big bummer!). Some of us knitted things, one made a cake, another put all the gifts together. It was a lot of fun! This was the first thing I made that used a "yarn over", had seams and was meant to be worn. Learning something new all the time. I hope she likes it.

Speaking of knitted gifts, after seeing Gabe's scarf Zion said she wanted one too. I knew I wanted pink but also a little something extra and pink with brown is one of my favorites color combos and is totally Zion. I wanted a stitch that showed off my yarn duo. Tried garter - nope. Tried stockinette - also a no-go. Switched to seed stitch which I love and think looks really classy. Yep. That's the one. This picture doesn't give it justice and now the scarf is a lot more progressed so I'll have to post another picture soon. This is going to be a keyhole scarf, short with a slit in it that you pass one end through to secure it in place. It turns out that since seed stitch is a lot less stretchy then others I've worked with (like Gabe's scarf which is ribbed and REALLY stretchy) so I cast on too many stitches and it's too wide for Zion. Bummer. Guess I'll just have to make this one for me and then make her a little one when I'm done. Aw, how cute, a mommy-and-me scarf set. I should go into business.

Prior to all the puke hitting the fan we were all about having some extra fun around the house. On this afternoon I put a few inches of water in the sink and let Zion have at it with some measuring things and a funnel and such.

I was really surprised at how long she spent at the sink playing by herself. Will definitely be using that little trick again in the future!

Also before the sickness: Gideon gets down and dirty with some pasta and meatballs. He loves it! I'm not sure if it's the taste or the mess-ability that he loves so much.

For a while Gideon had such sensitive skin that we had to bathe him separately and use only the mildest of soaps. Even Johnson and Johnson was too harsh. He hasn't had any problems lately though so I've been throwing 'em in the wash together. This night I thought I'd go the extra step and let them have bubbles. What a thrill! And no, Gabe and Zion don't normally wear goggles in the bath just so you know.

Gideon immediately bent over and tried to eat them. He was just a-crackin' up at himself.

And then this. Before we know it his vomiting lands him in the hospital. (Sorry for the poor quality of hospital pics, they were taken with my cell phone.) Poor little guy.

Really not feeling well but at least he's awake and out of his crib.

Jamie brought the kids to visit just about every day and with them came toys and games. Zion made cousin Jamae out of PlayDo complete with arms and "yegs" (legs).

A little sibling time. Luckily his wires and IV had a pretty good reach. After a few days when Gideon started feeling better he would perk up and get excited the second the kids walked in the door to his room. It was really sweet to see how happy he got when his big brother and sis came to see him.

Starting to feel a bit better. Sitting up and playing in bed. Still hooked up to the monitors and IV (that's what the white stocking on his foot is covering) but headed in the right direction.

"Let me out! Let me out! I'm innocent! I swear!"

Back at home and back at the familiar toy basket. He is starting to bottom scoot all over and pull himself up on his knees on everything. It won't be long now before he's up and walking.


Zion does her part to "clean up" the big "mess" at the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

Gideon is just happy to have an egg to chew on while Gabe and Zion do all the work.

Zion is still not feeling very energetic after her bout with the flu.

Funny. There sure does seem to be a lot of one color. I hope no one notices that that isn't an Easter basket but a felt ghost bucket we got for Halloween. Oops, I guess I shouldn't have mentioned it then.

The parting shot. How cute is that face?! And these are pretty much my pictures from Easter since PukeFest '09 had an encore performance on the way to my sister's.

Cutest Things Ever

Since certain someones were so sick this week we delayed going to Jamie's house for Easter. We were supposed to leave Friday and spend the weekend. But since we didn't that meant we were home for the annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt. I packed all the kids in the wagon for the short jaunt to the park. When Zion saw the colorful eggs littering the ground she exclaimed "Who made this mess?!" She patiently waited until the appointed time to help "clean up". Gabe had a different area of the park since he was in a different age bracket. I left him to his own but when Zion was done I checked on his progress. His basket was full of red eggs almost exclusively. In the area around him still lay pink, blue, yellow... all untouched. That's my boy!

Still some not-so-cuteness around. Zion has stopped puking - yeah! Gideon has stopped puking - yeah! Gabe started puking - darn it! In the car on the way to my sister's house for Easter no less. She was gracious enough to accept my two no-longer-puking children so Puking Child and I could drive all the way back home. That's a long hour. Me exhausted from cleaning up puke nearly every day for two weeks straight and him because I made him ride the whole way with a plastic bag poised under his chin. I will never pass by that certain exit on the highway without remembering my dash across four lanes (sorry folks, puking kid ya know) and bolt to the nearest gas station parking lot where I stripped Gabe of his now soaked clothes and redressed him (thank God I brought pjs for everyone to change into at Jamie's - 'cause we were staying late, ha!) all without moving him from his carseat (though I did take his straps off - now THAT would have been a neat trick). Gabe sits in the middle which otherwise would have meant I would have had to drag him over a non-puked on child in order to get him out. No way, Jose! And I was always think fondly of the gas station attendant who gave me plastic bags even though I didn't buy anything. I guess the whole "my child just puked all over my car" ruse really worked. Wait. I guess only WISH it had been a ruse. *sigh* Honestly folks, at this point I'm speechless. I don't think all four of us have been healthy for more than a few days out of the last few MONTHS. I .... I .... Nope. Pretty much speechless.

When It Rains...

You know how the saying ends - it pours! Last night Gideon woke up at 2AM to eat. That is when I discovered that I was freezing. And yet sweating. And aching all over. Arg! I knew what it was right away - mastitis (and it was confirmed by a doc at the walk in clinich in the morning). So I have bronchitis and mastitis wonderful. While I was at the walk in clinic Zion threw up all over back at home. Bless my sis who had abandoned her life to take over mine for the last week was the unlucky one to clean it up. I wasn't sure if it was stomach flu or just the high fever since she's had a fever for the third day now and I feel nauseous when I have a fever. Now I know it's the flu as she blew up all over herself and the couch and the floor again about two hours ago. Poor thing, it was everywhere and despite her objections I made her lay in the tub so I could wash it out of her hair and give her a quick washing. So here I am, fever, coughing, achy and scrubbing the carpet and couch with foamy cleaner and then going around the house with a bucket of Pine Sol and a rag. Where could she have touched? Where has there layed puked on clothes? Luckily she wasn't feeling well enough to play today mostly just layed on the floor and the couch but scrubbing was not on my agenda for today at all. Let's hope she's done with it and that no one else gets it. Please, Lord, can we be done with all the sickness and injuries (mostly my body is just a mess for having slept in a recliner for a week, does horrible things to your hips and neck)? I would very much like to have a healthy family for Easter. As it is my weekend plans have been altered. I was going to take us all up to Jamie's for the weekend starting tomorrow but with two of us having fevers that's out. I just hope and pray that we're OK for Sunday.

Gideon's Diagnosis

Oh me, oh my, what a relief to be home! That's right! We finally got to come home today. Gideon practically levitated with joy at the hospital when he saw me put my coat on. Again, just real quick, I'll come back and post more later, but up until about 20 minutes before we left they still did not have a diagnosis. Then his food allergy panel came in and lo and behold he has a dairy allergy. Boy am I glad that I kept asking about that test, the doctors weren't considering that high on the list because it is usually accompanied by eczema and diarrhea and he had neither. Still I know what we were experiencing at home and the last two major vomiting episodes followed dairy, once yogurt and once cheese. So this is not a lactose intolerance we're talking about but an honest to goodness whey protein allergy. It is encouraging that this is often something that children grow out of and also that we can "play" with Gideon's tolerance level for dairy once he's feeling better. So we can still give him bites of ice cream if we have some and give him a bit of yogurt or cheese and then wait a few days and try some more in increasing amounts. Our first order of business is to try to pack on his weight again. Poor fellow weighs less now than he did at his 9-month check and he has areas, especially around his used-to-be-chubby thighs where the skin is all baggy like he just won Biggest Loser. We have orders to supplement his diet with a non-diary Pediasure type product. We had success for the first time in Gideon's life giving him a bottle just the other day (well, Rob got him to do it when he was home on leave but then he started rejecting it again) so that will make things a bit easier. I'm also supposed to sneak olive oil into his food when I can and a few other things. I can't tell you how much the joy welled up inside me when Gideon first saw his stuffed dog from his crib. I had no idea that Gideon was actually attached to a lovey. He thoroughly and vehemently rejected every little stuffed animal that the hospital had to offer but the second he saw that dog he grabbed it and bear hugged it and bit it's nose. With Gideon that is the utmost sign of affection! He nearly squealed with joy, what a lovely reunion! And after him fighting me on sleep for the last week in the hospital to have him go down tonight without a peep was such a relief. He is really happy to be home. I will keep the blog up to date with his progress and perhaps even news on my other two kids. Yes, they still exist! They have been having fun with Jamie and Jamae all week. They even got to meet the Easter Bunny who Zion said was "nice" and let her hold his hand (though as Jamie would tell it she was terrified and wouldn't get any closer than barely arm's length).

I just want to say that all of the staff at the hospital from housekeeping to the doctors themselves were awesome. I really felt cared for and that everyone adored Gideon and really wanted the best for him. Between that and really being able to fully trust in God and not worry (to the point where a couple of times I actually felt bad for NOT worrying about my son - silly me!) this past week I was as peaceful on the inside as possible when your son is in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and monitors and wires everywhere and with pokes in every body part (seriously, they drew blood from every limb - or tried, and from his scalp three times) and a mystery illness that is sucking the weight off of him one ounce at a time.

And thank you all for all the prayers and e-mails and kind thoughts and comments. It's really wonderful to see how many people care about us! God bless!

Real Quick

Just a quick blurb while Gideon seems to be happy watching Big Comfy Couch. We've been in the local children's hospital since last Thursday due to Gideon's dehydration and vomiting. They also want to find out why Gideon isn't gaining weight and in fact seems to be losing weight. There have been so many blood tests and urine tests and cultures and normal results and some abnormal ones. He has seen a neurologist and later today is going to see a nephrologist (kidney specialist) and a nutritionist many times. I don't know what else to say except that I think we are both getting annoyed with being in the hospital and all the pokes and prods and being told we can probably go home "tomorrow" and then being told no. I am so very thankful that my sister was able to come and stay at the house with Gabe and Zion and I am very thankful that he has stopped vomiting! Now he just needs to gain weight! Even though he has stopped throwing up his food and is back on solids as well as nursing he is still losing weight. *sigh* I guess all I can do is pray and I hope that you'll join me. Gideon really needs it right now.

Oh What A Day!

Wishing I could come on and write that I won the lottery or something but not so. Well, I guess I did if it's the vomit lottery or something. THAT I won! Got vomited on three times before lunch and once after. Poor Gideon, he just can't keep anything down. And because he seems dehydrated and we keep having these strange bouts of vomiting, off to the doctor we went. The doc is concerned because Gideon has not only NOT gained weight since his nine month check (more than two months ago) but he has lost weight (ounces, not pounds but still) and because he's not crawling or cruising (which I think is just his personality) and because of these strange puking episodes. He sent us next door to the lab for blood draws but Gideon wasn't hydrated enough so we have to go back tomorrow after hopefully letting his stomach settle and getting some more fluids in him. Then we have to go back two more times spread a week apart each because he is too little to take all the blood they need for the tests at once. He'll have food allergy tests, a CBC and liver enzymes checked. I don't remember what else. The doc also referred us to a GI specialist, a Nutritionist and a Physical Therapist for evaluations and advice. My hope is that the tests just comes back as a sensitivity to dairy and that it's something he'll outgrow.

The Sweetest Boy

And you just can't argue with that. He's sweet and kind, helpful and amazing. He's the first person to actually ask me to knit them something and that just makes me love him more. tee hee





We were at JoAnn a few weeks ago for some other yarn and we picked out the yarn together. Red is his favorite color. Since then he hasn't let me forget about his scarf. I was thinking that the weather would get too warm before I would finish it but, go figure, God really wanted him to use his scarf 'cause it snowed yesterday. Gabe and Zion went out to play and sure 'nuff, he got to wear his scarf. Now Zion wants one. Hm. Off to the store for more yarn. Bummer. I just can't handle more yarn - ha!





Speaking off crafts and things, I got my handmade craft from Rachel for the Craft It Forward exchange. I've already used one of these cute personalized cards (which happen to use orange - my favorite color, how did she know?). I've finished two of my three handmade items that I am giving away to the three who signed up on my blog but I'm not going to say what they are or post photos until I've sent them off. Ah, the torture!

We spent a wonderful weekend with my sister. Friday night she and I went to a craft night with Nora and got some Photoshop tutoring. Jamie and I brought our laptops and Nora did the teaching. I learned enough to get me started on Rob's "year you were gone" scrapbook using the calendar pages I have up on the wall but we just scratched the surface. Matthew watched all the kids. All of mine and all three of hers. What a guy! Honestly, I know some husbands who won't even watch their own kids (what's up with that, anyway?) let alone someone else's. Then on Saturday we lounged around my house until later afternoon and then drove up and met the rest of Jamie's family for dinner. After a yummy Mexican meal we went to Jamae's school for her ASL class concert. It was really, really awesome. The music and choreography were great as well as the interpreting and you could really tell that the kids worked very hard on the whole thing. Later, we drove back to our house and spent another leisurely day around the house until Jamie had to go home. The house seems a little empty now.

I also got to speak with Rob today and he is doing well. Crazy busy. He is happy that there is a new crew manning the kitchen so the food situation has improved a great deal. That truly is a happy thing. I don't like to think of him over there being fed mystery meat. Poor guy's skinny enough as it is.

Unexpected

When I decided to move my laptop to a less desirable spot in the house I knew that I'd likely check my e-mail less and blog less and that I'd be doing other things instead and that would be fine. What I didn't expect was the fines. Yeah. Since my laptop isn't right there nearby for most of the day I keep forgetting to check when the library books are due. Let's just say the amount that I've paid in fines in the last few weeks is, well, kind of embarrassing. I guess it's going to a good cause though.

I should have expected Zion to follow in her brother's footsteps and use the word "actually" a lot because I use it a lot (one of those things you don't know you do until someone points out each time you do it) and I would have been right. Her's sound like ak-choo-wee and it's completely adorable. As in "Zion, it's time for bed now." and then "Ak-choo-wee, I go ow'side pway now."

I never expected that Zion would like to play outside alone. Gabe never did. Still doesn't. But she'll go outside in any condition by herself and play.

I never expected Gideon to have projectile vomitting in the waiting area of the elementary school office while Gabe was inside taking his test for Kindergarten. A little voice inside my head when we arrived for the test told me I should take his blanket in "just in case" but I shunned it. Told it that was stupid because Gideon doesn't spit up anymore. Dumb me. Always listen to the voices in your head! Oh wait. Maybe that's not such a good idea. Anyway, the staff were wonderful and I'm sure when Gabe starts school in the Fall they will remember us. The principal included. Yeah. Nothing like getting to know the school principal by having to apologize for all of the vomit all over the chairs and floor of the office. Still, all's well that ends well and Gabe hit it out of the park on the test (which is supposed to help them identify kids that need extra help). The lady (shame on me for not getting her name while I was busy blushing over the vomit on my pants) said he is definitely ready for school and that they will probably have a reading group for the K class for kids like him that are already reading. Whew! She wasn't really sure what they would do for his math skills which are also quite a bit ahead but we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm hoping to find someone to watch Zion and Gideon so I can volunteer in his class next year. Fun times! Another fun thing about looking forward to te Fall is that Rob will be home by then. Woohoo! I've got a whopping care package all ready to get to the Post Office that I hope he really, really enjoys. I'll enjoy it when I can spoil my husband without having to make a trip to the Post Office.

This Week

My oh my, what a busy week! I've hardly had time to check e-mail let alone blog or anything.

Monday started bright and early with set up at the church where I am a MOPS table leader. Normally I don't do set up but Tuesday's meeting was the annual special meeting that is run by the table leaders. This year's theme was Jazz N Java so we set up the meeting room to look like like a jazzy little coffee shop complete with a stage with instruments and a plate glass window looking out on a city (which was painted by the table leaders too only not me 'cause I couldn't get a sitter to go to that meeting). Later my neighbor helped me get one of my cats to the vet. Turns out the poor little guy has an ear infection. The rest of the day was filled with cooking and baking, besides taking care of the kids that is.

Tuesday was the meeting itself and that was such a good time. Three ladies gave their testimonies and I was very blessed by what they shared. My table had a good chat too and it was just a really good time. Well, when you set up you have to take down so I stayed to help with that. Then home for lunch and for the kids to nap so I can clean. That was the plan anyway. Zion started howling shortly after going down and woke up Gideon so no nap for them. I finished the dishes and then got us the heck out of the house, staying home was going to make us all nuts. Off to an errand that I'd been meaning to run for a week but the rain was keeping me from it and then off to Gabe's swim class.

Wednesday is usually preschool at my house for Gabe and his friend Isaac but with sickness and busyness we decided to skip this week. We are learning about Ireland however so next week we'll be having an Irish meal to end the month. Can't wait! Still Nora, Isaac and Sarah still came to play but not until I hauled all the kids to our elementary school to register Gabe for Kindergarten in the fall. Ahhhhhhh!!!! Did I just say that? Yep, and boy is he excited. I am too but I won't really know how I feel until I put him on the bus. I think I may have a change of heart.

Later that night while Gabe was at AWANA my friend Laura came so I could teach her how to knit. Yeah. Only been doing it a few months myself but I'm already roping others in to the craft. Truth be told she and I and a few other friends have something special up our sleeves but I can't talk about it yet. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll blab and probably have pictures. Patience!

Thursday morning is Bible study for me and this week was no exception. A quick lunch at home after that so we can have Gabe's friend Gabe (yep, two of them AND they have the same birthday) and his mom came over to play. The boys played Lego Indiana Jones on the Playstation2 (gotta get that game!) while the mamas got our knit on. Love having other ladies to knit with, thinking about starting a monthly group. Had to cut out early to head to the Y so Nora and I could try Zumba. Let's just say that I'm really glad we tried the Basic class first. Oh. My. Goodness! I was so out of breath and got to a good reminder of how not graceful I am. Hm. I think I may try it again but I'm really going to have to psych myself up first. Then we all got to go to Nora's house for dinner and then Matthew took all the boys (except Gideon) to swim class while the girls I (and Gideon) stayed back to play. Not to knit though. Can't convince Nora of that one. :)

Friday. Whew, is the week not over yet? Friday mornings are always a bit obnoxious in their busyness. Awakened by an alarm clock, feed us all quick, quick, quick, then off to the Y for Gabe's sports class, Zion's swim class and then my water aerobics class. So tired by the time we leave and not just because of the workout. This particular Friday was also my monthly movie night so after feeding the kids lunch (with the help of Taco Time) I cleaned a bit. A real little bit. My darn cold still has me pretty low in energy so I'm doing only as much as necessary. This month we watched While You Were Sleeping, a favorite of mine, and I also made a lot of progress on my current knitting project.

*sigh* I'm exhausted just from rehashing all this. It was a fun week though. Here are some more highlights in picture:

I got Gabe to play in shaving cream. A couple of years ago I would have told you this never would have happened. Judging by the look on his face he's still warming up to the idea. He doesn't do textures well. At all. But he didn't throw up and said he would do it again so we're golden.

Zion wore a totally cute outfit and ran from the camera. Nothing new there.

Gideon got his very first sandwich. Jam no peanut butter. Totally loved it. He's busting through tooth number six. That will make four on the top and two on the bottom. He's also starting to move around a lot more and pull himself up on things. Usually me. Still, I thought he was never going to crawl. Not that I'm complaining. I keep saying that God knew I didn't need another mobile child right now so he was keeping Gideon content to sit where I put him. Not for much longer.

Me? I got a hair cut and had Gabe take a picture of me. Didn't he do such a great job!

Weirdness And All That

My oh my has there been some weirdness going on. I've been sick all week. Really sick. Like "you kids just play the Wii and I'll be crashed here on the couch" kind of sick for days and days. Stuffy nose, coughing, hacking, phlegm Mmmmmmm, yummy. Canceled pretty much all my and the kids' activities all week. Someone also replaced my beautiful chubby cheeked smiley baby with a baby that throws fits. About everything! He has perfected the I-don't-want-to-get-in-my-carseat back arch and does it even when he's happy to get in his carseat. He does it while laughing. And he has massive mommy separation anxiety which means that he screams now whenever he's left with someone else. Grrr!

Thought we'd be doing good by getting to church today. That went OK it was afterwards that things got a little weird.

First off the kids were massively hyper. What happened? Did the teachers in Sunday School give them injections of sugar while they were supposed to be learning about Jesus? I had to pick some stuff up at Walmart and only Gideon fits in the cart so the others were loose. Usually not a problem but it is when they've had secret injections of ADHD causing something-or-other. I suddenly found myself being one of those moms whose barking "stop", "get back here", "don't touch that" and that is very, very rare. Shopping was going painfully slow and frustrating already when all of the sudden there was a humongous noise from above. Hail on the roof. Tons of it - boy was it loud! The kids and I said a quick prayer that it would be over by the time we had to leave since I had to park so far away, then -blink- lights out. That's right. The entire Walmart lost electricity. All of us shoppers got herded out like cattle. Luckily they allowed us to make what purchases we had in our carts. Sadly for me I hadn't yet gotten to the grocery section.

Once at home grumpy kids got a snack before nap and I got to discover that the power flicker had dumped our Internet. What a process it is to get it back. Luckily I knew what to do (mostly - one quick call to a friend to remind me how to get into the right window to fix what I needed to fix). I had just time to get my own snack when Gideon was already awake and crying. A quick exploratory of his mouth revealed swollen gums. Darn teeth! That must be why he didn't sleep well last night either. *sigh* Still, the night flitted away faster than I expected and before I knew it it was time for the kids to go to bed and here I am with my own plate of food waiting and many chores ahead. Hopefully some fun too though. I have some knitted gifts I'm working on. I can't wait to post pictures but I'll just have to until the gifts are given. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise should the recipient happen to pop on here.

Tomorrow holds the hope for a better day. Not less busy. But I hope just a little happier.

The Goings On

I feel really behind. I'm not spending nearly as much time on my computer. I decided to test my theory that if my laptop wasn't so accessible I might spend more time doing other things. Not just chore type stuff but fun things too like reading and continuing my knitting. Then there's this whole Lent thing going on which I've never done before because it just wasn't part of my upbringing or church traditions in my adulthood. But I like the concept of, not just giving something up but replacing that "thing" with better habits. I didn't give up my laptop but I gave up my laptop's normal location which is always near me on the couch and put it on the bar in the kitchen. My activities I have to admit, have been a lot more rounded since then. Sadly, that also means I'm not blogging as much.

I'm back to working on my first project and it's nearly done. It really doesn't go with this outfit but I wanted a picture of it midway. I'm very pleased that I didn't accidentally stab myself in the eye with the needles when I was putting it on and taking it off. That would have been so like me.

This last week has had it's ups and downs. One week ago tomorrow morning Rob boarded a plane and left. Sad. This time I feel like I'm struggling with loneliness more. Maybe because much of his leave period was spent in ways that weren't planned nor desired, like taking care of sick kids. We kept having to split up. One would stay home so the other could run out and vice versa. It really frustrated me. (I might have written about that already.) Things are starting to smooth out a little. Wouldn't you know it though, Gideon has hit a MAJOR Mama separation anxiety phase and doesn't want anything to do with anybody. Period. He cried for more than two hours in the MOPS nursery then he cried in the Y nursery only their policy is to go get the parent after 20 minutes so I had just gotten in the pool for my aerobics class and made less than one lap and they wanted me to come get him. Arg! This is not good for my sanity! He must miss his Daddy.

I also lost my bestest babysitter because she is having issues at home. Oh yeah, and she lied to me and used me to deceive her parents. Major bummer! Oh and her mom is made at me too and the day that Rob left she called to let me know so that really didn't help feel better about being "single" again. So now I'm feeling all imprisoned and stuff because I don't even have anyone I can call when I need to get out without the kids.

OK, I don't want to turn this into a whine fest. Things have been looking up the last couple of days if for no other reason than we're starting to get back into a groove. Zion is back to her normal antics. She colored herself purple the other day and tried to wash herself off before I found out. The clue? Her desperate squawk of "No! Go 'way!" to Gabe when he entered the bathroom where she was washing. When I took her shirt off to wash it I found that she had colored stripes on her belly and filled in her belly button. Nice. This is why I bought her washable markers for Christmas.

The night before Rob left we had a family movie and game night. First we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks and then put Gideon and Zion to bed and stayed up and played Wii with Gabe. Before bedtime I took a bunch of shots of the gang all together. This is the best one. I intentionally didn't try to pose or get everyone to look at the camera. I just sat there and shot away while they did their own thing. Yep. This is pretty much us in real life.

Gabe and his friend Isaac are back to having preschool here once a week now that things are getting back to normal as well. In February we all learned about Italy. And in keeping with my end-of-month plans we had a special meal of foods from that country. We all took turns putting the layers on a lasagna which turned out gorge-yourself good!

We also had salad, breadsticks and bruschetta.

And followed the meal with Spumoni ice cream - yummy yum yum!

This month we are going to learn about Ireland so stay tuned to see what we cook up at the end of the month! Until then just keep checking in of course to see what we're up to and, naturally, I'll try to have pictures.

A Quickie

The last few days:

Zion colored herself purple. How I knew, she told me she had to wash her hands when I called her into the room where I was and then I overheard her say "NO! Go 'way!" to Gabe in the bathroom. Hmmm, wonder what's up. Purple child, that's what. Complete with belly stripes and a fully filled in belly button. Nice.

Gabe puked. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Yes, I'm totally sick of having sick kids. Luckily he said his tummy felt "awesome" shortly after and didn't seem to feel bad the rest of the day.

Gideon feels better. Gideon cried his way through what was supposed to be his 9-month photo shoot (shut up about his actually being 10 months now, I've been busy 'K) and then cooed and played all the way home.

Rob is part of the way back to his post. I've gotten a couple of e-mails from him and a phone call. He sounds in good spirits. Wait until he finds out what I just bought for his next care package. Let's just say I think he'll say "yum" at least.

Me. Emotions. I'm still trying to figure out his leave periods are worth another "goodbye" especially when you spend most of that time scratching your plans in order to take care of sick kids. I'm just a smidge bitter. And I don't even like dark chocolate. (Cause dark chocolate is bitter, get it? OK, my sense of humor is a bit off right now. Give me a few days. A few days of no sick kids. A few days with no sick kids and a few nights of good sleep. Yeah. I'm not holding my breath, don't worry.)

On a happy note, I just picked up a whole bunch of holds at the library. Knitting books, both the pattern type and the fiction type. Fun! Gotta go!