Is it Bedtime, Yet?

Miss Selah left dinner, washed herself up, and disappeared. She reappeared a few minutes later- dressed for bed. She then asks "is it bedtime, yet?"
Me: Well, it could be. Are you ready for bed?
Selah: Yep! Will you brush my teeth, please?
Me: Sure.

So I brush her teeth and she picks up the ipod, blabs about it for a minute and then says "are you done brushing my teeth? Can I go to bed now?"

Far be it for me to prevent a child from going to bed! I put her to bed and then come back downstairs to give Micah his medicine and brush his teeth. Add in a diaper change and some teeth brushing and it's been 15 minutes or so. I take him upstairs and as I enter his room something flashes past me. It's Selah, mumbling "I've got to go to bed!" as she passes me. Oh dear. This could be scary. My sewing stuff is in Micah's closet (up high, but she climbs.) There's also diaper rash cream and lotion in the closet and toothpaste hidden in one of his drawers. Not to mention she's been known to empty dresser drawers for entertainment. So before I even look, I track her down and ask her what she was doing.

Selah: I've GOT to go to bed!
Me: I won't stop you from going to bed, I just wondered what you were doing in there.
Selah: I was just building a fence for Mikey's little people! I have to go to bed now!
Me: oh, well. Go to bed and I'll be in there to say prayers in just a minute.

Guess she showed me. I wish I had it on video, though. She was very suspicious. And after reading to Micah and putting him to bed, I find Selah playing in her closet. Funny that a child so anxious to get to bed was still wandering around 40 minutes later. She did go right to sleep after a story and prayer, though. Oh, and fresh water, of course. You never know what she's going to ask for when she cries after you tuck her in. Water, dolls, get rid of the scary stuffed animals, her light on, her light off, a different blanket...you name the excuse, she's likely used it. Blessedly, she tends to only "need" one thing per night.

Valentine's Dinner

I know, that was a long time ago. But I came across the pictures while looking for a different one. It was a rare gluten and dairy filled meal...and was exceptional. It took ALL day to prepare the meal, and that was with having prepared the dessert the day before. There were tons of leftovers to snack on for the next few days though, and it was SO incredible I am not complaining!! We don't really "celebrate" Valentine's Day here, but we do usually have a nice dinner. And heart shaped pancakes or something similar for breakfast.

Valentine's Day Dinner 2012



Pumpkin Ravioli in a Cream Sauce and Duchess Potatoes

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Oreo Cheesecake with a sour cream topping covered in chocolate ganache.

My phone doesn't take the best pictures, especially in low light. But you get the idea.

It was so decadent and rich. Absolutely amazing. Could easily be gluten free, but not so easily (or at least not tastily) dairy free. So it's the real thing. I cannot even express how good this was. Could it top Kahlua Cheesecake...I just don't know. I think we need to have a taste-testing!

Hope you all had dinner before looking at these pictures. We already ate, but I'm thinking I need something more now...and yes, I will likely blame it on Elijah!

God Is Good...All the Time.

He really is, even when life doesn't seem so good.

But I am happy to report that yesterday, we got good news to attest to His goodness.

Amazingly, we are already halfway through this pregnancy. And yesterday was the "big" ultrasound. Blessedly, the baby looks great. A little heavy (13 oz), a little long, but perfect in all other ways.

Always great news. Technology is amazing, as I could see all the chambers of the heart, the corpus collosum, fingers, toes, ears, and a nose. Seeing  that perfect little being makes it all seem so much more real. I guess I haven't swallowed a ball that kicks and punches, after all.

But, the second most exciting thing, other than the perfectness, is the fact that it is indeed a HE.

So, I introduce to you, Mr. Elijah, due 15 Aug 2012.

Here's the sweet little guy, getting a bit squished. His head is on the right, you can see one eye, his nose, and chin. His belly is on the left, the big white circle. The little black circle is an organ, I'm not sure which one, it may have been his stomach.

(I have a condition diagnosed as an Irritable Uterus. I contract pretty much the whole pregnancy and many things bring it on- including having a full bladder-necessary for the ultrasound- and pressure on the uterus-necessary for the ultrasound. I no longer get excited for ultrasounds as they hurt so badly. But, I've had this will Noah, Selah, and Micah as well, and there have been no consequences so far- besides my misery. So I'm grateful for the healthy, full-term children, even with the misery!)

Here's his foot. Pretty amazing how you can see his toes (pointing to the left) as well as some of the bones!

Pretty good profile shot- enjoy this was so painful I couldn't even watch the screen for this part. It's worth it now!

Saving the best for last- she turned on the 4d for a second and grabbed a quick picture. Bryan and the kids weren't able to come, so this is a great one for them. So much more real looking. He is "sleeping" on the placenta, and again gettign squished from a contraction. Looks pretty cozy to me! And he probably wasn't asleep, just doesn't really open his eyes yet. He was quite active during the scan. Noah thinks he looks like he's sleeping in his carseat. You can see his little hand in the bottom right. His little thumb is so cute!

The kids were all excited, though we had pretty much thought it was a boy, so it wasn't too surprising. Bryan was still holding out hope it might be a girl, but not this go around. (For which I am grateful. Selah's more than enough girl for me, right now. Maybe next time I will be ready for another girl...we'll leave that to God!)

The kids comments were:

Selah (squealing): A BOY! YAY! I LOVE boys!

Micah (following Selah's lead): A BOY! YAY!

Noah: Another boy, that's a lot of boys. I wish it was a girl.

 (Perhaps he doesn't want yet another kid in his room?)

Jonah: Thankfully! (While he adores Selah, her drama really gets on his nerves.)

Bryan just thinks it's funny...and improbable. 4 boys are "a lot!" But could you imagine 4 girls?? That's terrifying to me.

So he often asks me "How'd you get so lucky with all these boys and I only get one girl?"

And my reply is simply that God knows my limits. And I'm at my girl limit with Selah right now.

I usually hear from people, "I bet you're really hoping for another girl!"

And to that I reply, "Nope, one's enough. Grateful for her, but I'll take the rest boys if I get to choose."

They usually look at me funny. But I think I'm just better equipted to handle the boys. Of course, part of the funny look might be "the rest" part of the comment. Most people think it's shocking we're about to have number 5. The thought of having more is just so overwhelming to them. But I assure you, God gives you the Grace to make it work. We are so grateful for not only His Grace, but for these blessings He's given us!!

We Love That Baby!

Even Micah likes to come kiss the baby. They are all so anxious for his arrival. Jonah probably the most but Selah talks about it ALL the time. She's going to sing the baby to sleep (if only), change his diapers (eek!), and carry him around (pray for his survival). I'm sure Jonah won't lose interest very quickly but the rest might. Of course, it might encourage his survival if they do lose interest. I have a feeling he will live in the front pack carrier out of necessity for his survival for at least 6 months. And it's doubtful i'll ever get a shower when Bryan isn't home or all the kids aren't in bed. But at least they are excited about him, not dreading him. If they kill him it'll be out of love, not hate. Not sure how much better that is...

Selah's Hair

He's a little better shot of Miss Selah's new (self-inflicted) haircut.

Warning:Injury photo! May be disturbing to some.

Jonah took a hot drill bit to the arm on Thursday. Ouch.

Of course, I'm either cleaning up dinner or making it, I can't remember. I hear the front door bang open and a kid in obvious pain not quite screaming. Realizing it's Jonah makes my stomach drop as he's not one to come in crying because he stepped on a rock (Selah). Dropping what I was doing I rush into the entryway and find him coming through with his T-shirt wrapped around his arm, which he's clutching to his abdomen, hunched over.

That's one of those panic moments moms (and maybe dads) get where literally in half of a second you've somehow thought of 30 things it could be. I imagine it would be similar to seeing your life flash before your eyes. It doesn't seem possible to think of so many things so quickly.

And then the war wages inside. Look. Don't look. Look. Don't look. Can I handle this?? Scale of 1-10 how likely are we about to have to scurry into the car and drive to the ER? Do I ask what happened first or just look? Or, just tell the kid to get in the car and grab my wallet and keys? Ahhh! What do I do??

Again, this is all within the first 2 seconds. Time is so odd when it seems to stop so you can think. Or maybe it's just so amazing how quickly we can think when the fight or flight system is activated. Either way, it's truly just weird.

So I decide to ask and to look, at the same time. I mean, his T-shirt was white and it wasn't blood soaked. That's reassuring. And before I really see anything he yells something about being burned. So I just went straight to the sink. And there I finally saw. Yuck. And I try to remember all the burn rules...cool but not too cold with the water. No ice. Infection most worrisome. Okay. I get his arm into the water as he finally (it's been 5 seconds by this point) tells what happened. Thankfully, as I was so confused as to what could burn him. I now remember I was making dinner as I had to keep flipping chicken so it wouldn't burn while I tried to tend to him.

And Bryan "finally" (after 6 whole seconds!) Walks in and fills in the blanks in the story. Bryan was drilling holes in the brick to hang planters out front. Jonah walked up behind Bryan just as he finished a hole. Exhausted from drilling the hole (have you ever drilled into brick or concrete? Very exhausting!) Bryan drops his arm holding the drill and the bit that is hundreds of degrees hits Jonah's arm.

Ouch doesn't feel adequate.

While I'm sorry it happened, I'm so incredibly grateful it was Jonah and not Selah or Micah! Their heads are about that high. I don't even want to think about them getting hit in the face with that!

Two days later, it's still bugging him quite a bit, but seems to be doing okay. I do believe Bryan will be more careful in the future with hot drill bits and I'm thinking Jonah won't soon walk up behind someone working, especially when the tool is loud and they can't hear you!

What Happened to Summer?

While we tried to explain to the kids that it was only March and 70s degree days were not only unusual, they wouldn't last, they still seemed to think Summer was here. So this morning, as has been common the past week, they were asking to go outside and play as soon as they woke up. No breakfast necessary. Just let us go play. I told them they could but warned them it was chilly and they would want a coat. Let's just say they came back in for coats.

And then they wanted to eat their breakfast outside. They didn't care it would be cold by the time they got to the table. So Selah and Noah went out, and if you look closely, you can see them under the playset at the picnic table. Of course, Micah wanted to follow suit-and refused shoes and a coat. But it was cold enough he didn't even make it to the dewey grass before crying and coming back in because it was cold. Wishing for those 70s to come back! Sadly, this week's forecast is mostly in the 40s. Awfully cold after a week of 80s in New Orleans and a week of 70s here! We were aclimating nicely to the warmer temps!

Poor Noah

He's on his second nap of the day. Not good.

Napping Noah?

Strange but true. At 1130 I found him asleep on the couch. Made more worrisome by the fact he was complaining of not feeling well this morning. I'm not sure I can handle another virus right now. It just may result in quarantining the entire family until cold and flu season is over...which I believe is the end of May. That's kind of far away. Here's hoping he's just tired because he's trying to adjust to the time change!

I Will Not Cry...

But I want to. I know, all kids do it, right? But I'm in the process of cutting the boys' hair so we can go take pictures!! She couldn't wait until tomorrow?? I need a nanny. Just for Selah. Bryan's here, and so am I. And she still manages to confiscate the scissors and cut her hair. Yes, it could be worse, hair grows back. This doesn't require an ER trip. And, she left a tiny little curl at the front so maybe, just maybe, it'll hide a bit. But while the pictures don't do it justice, I assure you, it's bad. I'm so sad.

Umm, Mommy?

If I want a marshmallow, you have to give me a marshmallow!

Actually, dear Selah, the funny thing is, I don't. So sorry.

Oh Joy!

The kids (and Bryan) get very excited should we get caught by a train. And even more so if we are in the first spot. Today we got caught by 2 cars, moving on their own...that, of course, had to stop on the road. Not having an engine meant they couldn't move off the road! An engine did come, and move them right back where they were. Not sure what that was all about, but I'm not the most patient person when it comes to trains. Everyone else thought it cool, though.

(Sorry if the pictures aren't in the right order. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.)

Baby Fever!

As many of you have heard, the kids have been relentless for the last year asking for a new sibling. So when we finally announced that they would be getting one, they were ecstatic. And I have often joked that I have no choice but to breastfeed if I ever want to hold my child. It's not much of a joke...seeing as how our whole family loves babies. As proof, I offer you Noah and Selah who sat and stared at a friend's baby when they were here for Bible study today. And then had a conversation with Jonah about how much longer the baby needed to "cook." 21 weeks sure does sound like a long time, especially to a 10 year old with baby fever. And he was promised that he'd be allowed to actually carry the next baby while walking. (Well, I wasn't pregnant when I said that. And yes, I kind of worry but we've still half the pregnancy to go. Maybe he'll lose some clumsiness in the coming months?) Don't be surprised to see him with the baby in the front pack, doing his schoolwork. I'm already anticipating arguments about how he can only work while holding the baby and such. But hey, at least they're super excited to expand the family! What a blessing.

Not Frosting.

First Noah asked for some...though he changed his mind when he heard that it was filling for deviled eggs, not frosting. After he returned it to the counter, Selah asked for some. I warned her, too, that it wasn't frosting. She chose to eat it anyway. And then said, " is this egg yolks??"

What's That Yellow Thing??

Is that a DART?
Of course it is. Jonah got a new gun. Why would there NOT be a dart on the ceiling fan? Admittedly, a good shot. But perhaps he could keep them aimed at areas easily accessed?

No Words Necessary

He's just so sweet.

I Scared!

Micah: I scared, Mama!
Me: what are you afraid of?
Micah: the light!
Me:you're afraid of the light!
Micah: yes! I scared! Turn it off!

Sad to say, dear Micah, only God can turn off the lightening!

And, of course, Selah had to join in on being scared. Admittedly, it was one of the worst lightening storms we've ever seen, much less driven through. And she wanted us to turn down the noise of the rain because she couldn't hear her movie. Then, she started crying when the hail started. 

Tell Them I'm NOT, Mommy!

Me: you're not what??
Selah: I'm NOT sitting in the Queen Rat Seat!
Me: umm...okay. Boys, she is NOT sitting in the Queen Rat Seat! And stop teasing your sister.

How do you know?

How do you know this little boy had a great day?

Check out his feet!

Innocence?

It always amazes me how innocent this child looks should you catch her sleeping. Even though she's in the clothes and carseat she covered in baby food (this is from the other day), sleeping she just makes me want to brush the hair back from her face and tuck a blanket around her. Grungy or not. It's hard to not wish for her to never grow up.

I Feel Fine, Mom!

Noah: Really, I'm just taking a little rest.
Mom: Does your stomach hurt?
Noah:only little bit. Really I'm just tired!
Mom: really...?

Want to Guess Who These Clothes Belong to?

Perhaps the knife and candy bar wrapper caught there at the front are good telltale signs?

Help!

There's a basket stuck in my hair!

Life with Selah

Someone's refusing to buckle up.
Why?
Because her seat is messy.
How did it get messy?
She squeezed blueberry pear purple carrot baby food all over it.
Why?
She doesn't know but she claims, "I'm not going to do it again!! I'm not!"
Yeah, unlikely. But either way you have no choice but to sit in it. Yet another lesson in lying in the bed you made. Too bad it still isn't sinking in.

Noah's Home.

My phone died, so if you were anxiously awaiting news, I apologize. The scope went well, Noah is home, feels fine, and is enjoying a nice big glass of lemonade. If he still feels fine after that, he can have some soft food. He had a blue popsicle in the hospital (can you tell??) And he said his throat and stomach are all feeling great! His hand, from the IV, not so much. Apparently that's really bugging him. Looks like they couldn't get the IV right the first time as they are two holes. Not sure if that's the problem or not. He thinks it is just from the super sticky tape that hurt to rip off. Either way, if that's all that's bugging him, I think we made out well.

As for the results, it looks good in there. The doctor still took biopsies, as things can be wrong without outward symptoms, and we should have those results next week. He's back to a dairy free diet, but he's okay with that since his stomach has been hurting so much lately!

Look Familiar?

Noah's scope is this morning. There really aren't any toys for older kids in the admitting waiting room. So, he's stuck playing with the same one as Micah. The computer there isn't working, and the table is missing the magnets to move the toys inside. Not a huge deal,  though, he's so excited to here!

Who cares about dinner?

Probably everyone besides Micah and I. But it's moments like this that I actually "stop and smell the roses." And I don't want to move on. It was "nice" out today and the neighbors stopped by to play outside with our kids. So Micah skipped his nap. He's tired, and snuggly. And I don't want to get up to make dinner when I can snuggle a sweet, sick, tired 2-year-old little boy. Won't be long and he'll be 10 and not-so-snuggly like someone else I know. I already miss these days and they aren't even gone yet! I need to really enjoy them.

What Happens When Mommy is Sick?

<p>The kids eat peanut butter cookies and watcht tv. Blessedly, Daddy went to work late and made them eggs and toast before he left. And was still here when Micah followed Mommy's lead and lost his breakfast. Not likely to be a productive day here...just waiting for bedtime.

Is it Any Wonder?

When I wonder how it could take so long to peel potatoes for dinner, I am forced to remember that our children liken raw potatoes to candy. That was the third one Selah stole as I peeled. And I know that Jonah and Noah each had one as well. Guess I can stop wondering now.

Mikey gets the Star Wars plate??

No. Fair.

Someone has way too many brothers!

Selah walks into the classroom and says...

Sometimes, I just get hungry. So,  I just go get a banana. See?

Sigh. I know some of you are thinking, "at least she picks bananas for snack!" This is true...sometimes. This morning she snuck out of the classroom while I was busy scraping a whole book of stickers off the floor that she so kindly stuck there. She took Micah with her. A minute later Micah comes back saying, "Selah's eating something!" Jonah goes to investigate. Turns out she scaled the front of the freezer to get a pastry bag of frosting that I had HID behind the milk on the second shelf of the fridge. And she was hiding in the dining room under the table eating it. Of course it wasn't "safe" frosting, it had butter AND cream in it, so her stomach is going to be bugging her. Luckily, Micah didn't partake.

So yes, I'm relieved this time it was "safe" and healthy. But this child really needs to stop feeding herself whenever she feels like it.