Grandpa Lowell, I need you!

Those were Baby's words to Grandpa Lowell while we were on vacation. I was sitting near the window, and I knew what she had done, so I was already laughing.

"Grandpa Lowell, I neeeeeed you! I pooped outside!"

We were all laughing, except for Grandpa Lowell!

*Just a note - she usually doesn't poop anywhere but in her crib in private.

Too much excitement

Well, when we were in Indiana, Baby decided to check if the iron was on. And she has 2nd degree burns on her palm and fingers. We took her to see the doctor to be sure we were doing things correctly. She is doing very well, and we were told to remove the dead skin when the blister finally broke. "Just use a tweezers or your fingers and just peel it off; it's already dead." Yeah. Right.

I had to pin her hand down and keep her head facing away by using my head. That meant my head was close to Baby's hand. It also meant that before DH was done, I was in the bedroom lying down to avoid passing out. He had to use small nail scissors to cut away the thick, dead skin. Her poor little hand was beef red underneath - that is what the doctor told us it would look like, and she was right!

Now we just have to keep putting prescription cream on it for a couple days and then follow that up with some over the counter stuff followed up by vitamin E to avoid scarring.

I think we've had enough excitement for a while!

The Mystery of Fire Island

I just realized I posted before VBS and after and there's no info about the in-between.





So. The hundreds of hours of prep were well worth the time. 6 children made a profession of faith. Here is our VBS in review:

All our stories integrated fire.


Monday - Our character trait was courage. The Bible story was the Three Hebrew Children, and the application part of the lesson for the younger children was about Lions, and the older children learned about George Washington.

Tuesday - Our character trait was teamwork. The Bible story was about Gideon. The application part of the lesson for the younger children was about Honey Bees, and the older children learned about Thomas Jefferson.

Wednesday - Our character trait was Discovery. The Bible story was Moses and the Burning Bush. The application part of the lesson for the younger children was about Monkeys, and for the older children was George Washington Carver.

Thursday - Our character trait was Following. The Bible story was Moses and the Pillar of Fire. The app. part for the younger kids was about elephants, and for the older kids was about Fanny Crosby.

Friday - Our character trait was Deliverance. The Bible story was Elijah and the Chariot of Fire. The app. part for the younger kids was about dolphins, and for the older kids was about Rick Husband.

The Mystery of Fire Island - This is the basic idea of the skits used in the opening assembly time. Our youth pastor wanted a take on Gilligan's Island. So he took these basic ideas and ran with them. He was the first mate - Come-Again (Gilligan).

Day one – Courage

Boat passengers straggle in “wet,” gasping, afraid, confused, concerned.

Captain gets them all organized and calmed down. Then there is a flash of fire in the distance and they are all scared.

They finally get calmed down again and Captain talks to them about courage. He talks about what they need to do to camp out for the night and they go off together. Come-Again is panicking.

Teenager - Mary Belle - rolls her eyes and drags her feet.

As they go out the door, there is another flash and a man peeks out and follows them.

Day two – Teamwork

The passengers get organized. They discuss where to sleep, find water and food, gather stuff from the boat washed up on the shore. Come-Again finds a box of food – pulls out rubber chicken, lobsters, etc.

Captain directs the group to do certain chores. Mary Belle pouts b/c she doesn’t like her assignment. While they go off to find firewood, branches to make shelter and find food and water, there is another flash of fire. The mystery man brings some food and water and rope. He leaves the stuff at the campsite and leaves. There’s another flash.

Day three – Discover

Group comes back and finds the supplies. In the bag of food, Captain finds a map. Come-Again wants to hold the map and be the leader. Everyone starts grabbing for the map. Captain finally gets order and gives directions and they all follow. MB has a bad attitude. Flash. Man follows them out.

Day four – Follow

Group continues to follow Captain and has to keep getting MB back on the path – she keeps following butterflies and birds, etc. They come around the corner and find the man and the fire. He’s been waiting for them. They are asking about the fire, when there is a flash. They run away. Man shakes his head and goes after them.

Day five – Delivered

Man brings the group back to the fire and explains that the fire is going to supply the way for them to be delivered. He pulls a patch for their boat out of the fire. Explains that the fire made the metal stronger. Shares plan of Salvation. MB gets saved. The Captain wants to bring the man along, but he stays to keep the fire for anyone else who needs the salvation message.

I think I survived

I’m sitting here trying to block out the pounding pain in my feet, ankles, hips, back… VBS week is over. I have one tiny, I mean – major – project left. I’m going to go through the hundreds of pictures my husband took this week and put together a slide show for Sunday night. Between now and then I need to sleep. And clean up a huge mess at church. And sleep. And write up evaluation forms. And sleep!

The carnival tonight about did me in. I had about 14 games set up and like, 3 people who were helping. The teachers had to go around with the kids and help the kids play the games. I guess that was ok. But my son came home with no prizes and no candy. That isn’t actually feasible, since each kid was given a piece of candy for playing the games and a small prize for partially winning and a large prize for completing the task. I had put together some prize bags for the youngest kids to ensure that didn’t happen to anyone, so I’ll have to get one for him.

The worst part of the whole thing? Bringing home all the things I loaned to the church. I have no idea where to put it all.

I’m off to bed.

Count Down

I am counting down the hours until VBS ends. LOL. Actually, when I think of the few hours I have until Monday 6 PM, I panic.

Fourth of July Flare-up

DH ended up only having to work one shift for the 4th. We were actually a bit disappointed, but these things happen.

I decided to be "brave" (stupid) and took the kids to the lake to see G & G. That's not the stupid part. I decided to take them up in the morning and let them nap there. HA HA HA HA

Little Boy crawled into G&G's bed and was off to sleep quite quickly. Baby on the other hand... She was in and out of the toddler bed, and got swatted repeatedly. Then I put her in the "big" bed with me and she hit, kicked, slapped, scratched, pinched...it was like trying to sleep with a squirrel. Only I've never heard a squirrel yell, "LEEEEEET MEEEEEE GOOOOOO!" I finally told her that if she didn't settle down and nap, I was taking her home. She sat up and said, "I wanna go home." So, little sassy pants got her wish.

Grandma kept saying she wished we wouldn't go. I kept explaining that empty threats are worse than useless. Little Boy got to spend the night at the lake; Baby went home. It's about a 40 minute drive and she stayed awake until we turned onto our street. Of course. She was still a pill about napping, but eventually she slept for about 40 minutes. She was not nice all night, but when it was time for bed, she very obediently got her jammies on and she climbed into her crib, gave me kisses and said good-night.

Little Boy got to see fireworks off the front porch. I watched a couple minutes from Boston on TV. Hopefully Baby had sweet dreams.

Bab-y-bonics

Have to share what Baby said tonight. Little Boy and I were both laughing!


Yesterday, she got an owie on her foot when Daddy accidentally closed the front door on her. She was being silly and pointed to it and said, "I have a boo-boo there." Only in her baby language and silliness, she said, "I have a boo-bah dare from the ding-dong-door." And from there she went into pretending to be a puppy.


Thankfully, when she starts into that, she is much easier to corral into her crib if I just keep playing along.


So, now it's 9:10 and DH is at work til 11 so I have the house to myself! It's nice and quiet. I should get some stuff done, but I'll probably do some stupid surfing and watch a little TV.

Our latest rainbow

This is looking up our road - if you look closely, you can see the second rainbow above the bright one. Baby is the one who spotted it first. It was just beautiful!

Earlier this summer, our neighbor across the street passed away. Baby still asks where "Melie" is. Her passing made us all very sad; she would have loved to see this.

Playhouse Update

DH started building this on Friday, June 20th. This is how the supplies arrived. When I saw the truck, I kept thinking, "Wow! DH sure ordered a LOT of stuff!" (Ours was not the only delivery he was making - duh.) Here are a couple pics.

I have to pick a paint color and he needs to put in the floor in the loft, the front door and do the trimwork. I'm so proud of him. He has done a great job.

We kept money aside last Christmas and we're taking money out of this coming Christmas to cover the cost. We really wanted a playhouse the kids could play in for years to come. The kids LOVE it.

Little Boy had to get in on the hilarity, too

For some reason, this is funny.

Dinner and a Show

Tonight Baby was in rare form.

"Cooooooome Baaaaaaaack!"

That's what we've been listening to for the last several minutes. Little Boy is sitting in the naughty chair for completely ignoring Daddy and Mommy when we asked him to quit stomping. So a five minute sentence has turned into about 20 minutes of drama. He finally quit fussing and is doing his time.

Baby is sitting in her chair at the table asking for another helping of scrambled eggs. It's one of the few things she really likes to eat. She woke up so sweet this morning. Good thing Daddy's home. I'm of the opinion that a big bowl of Cheerios is quite adequate for breakfast. Daddy likes to make homemade waffles, bacon and eggs for himself and the kids.

I went to church last night to decorate for VBS. The pastor's wife came. She called her daughter and the daughter called her husband. He ended up doing most of the work. I think it looks ok, but I'm glad I have two more packs of green paper to cut some more leaves. It looks a little sparse as it is.

It looks like a gloomy day here. It's cloudy and cool. Good day to go to the grocery store, I think.

The Past Four Days

So Saturday we had Little Boy's birthday party. He is getting so big. I keep telling him he needs to start shrinking so I can hold him and rock him again. He still likes to be held and snuggle, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

He wanted an army birthday party. So we did everything camo and put little army guys on all the cupcakes and DH scattered little army guys and vehicles around the dining room table. I'll have to post some pictures when I can locate the cable for the camera. But that would require getting up, so I'll wait on that. (I'm so tired and lazy) You will notice I added pictures.

So backing up a bit.

Thursday I ran to the printer with my stuff and had to bring it home and make some revisions. That evening was a meeting for VBS - everyone did their homework except Pastor. :0{ I don't know if that's typical of all pastors, but our pastor needs "encouragement" in this area. And I felt out of sorts since I peeled out of our driveway and honked the horn (somewhat angrily) at my husband. He was standing in the driveway talking to his dad and his dad's friend. I couldn't think of a way I could have told him more clearly that I needed to leave than "Supper is on the table and I need to leave for my meeting." I know he was trying to make his way into the house, but I HAD to leave and I only had 7 minutes to drive 15 minutes to church for a meeting I was supposed to help run. AND I was not happy about leaving my 5 and 2 3/4 year old kids in the house alone watching Tom and Jerry. I vented on the way in the direction of the rear-view mirror, and by the time I got there I was feeling much better. A little reminder from the Lord helped too. A song on one of the CDs in my changer - "Whatever I say, whatever I do, may it all be pleasing to You."

Friday I had to make a second trip to the printer's place, run some errands, and swing back to the printer. He was so kind to put a rush order on my stuff so I wouldn't have to make yet another trip. Everything looks really good.

Friday evening, after giving the kids showers and getting them into bed, I started cleaning. And I baked cupcakes. And I did 3 loads of laundry. And I found our dining room table. Who knew it was so big!? I had to box up my sewing mess and figure out what to do with the junk that just multiplies and accumulates around here. All so DHs family would have somewhere to set the huge pile of gifts they brought and so we could all sit down for dinner together. Somewhere around 2 am I started thinking we should have the party next door at his parents' empty house. But I'm stubborn and determined. And not always so bright. Saturday I got up, sent DH to get balloons filled at Walmart, set the table, decorated the dining room, made frosting for the cupcakes with the tiny bit of vanilla I could get out of the little bottle. Then I made a fruit salad (it was sooo good), cut up a cantaloupe, and changed my clothes. DH came back from his grueling trip (Sarcasm!) and found a reason to go hide.

So my kitchen still looked like a bomb went off, but I decided not to worry about it. I cannot kill myself to impress others. My arthritis has been acting up and it is very difficult to stand for long. Even just sitting, my feet are throbbing. I hate to give in and take the meds, but feeling this way isn't good.

The party was very nice. Dinner was a bit late, but I couldn't start stuff until I was sure people were close to being here. Little Boy picked out the menu - I was so proud of him. He chose baked chicken, broccoli, green beans, and parmesan pasta. I added the fruit stuff and made my "famous" cheater lemonade (or as Baby calls it "emmowade"). I slice a lemon, lime and orange and drop it into a pitcher of Crystal Light. (If you try this, do not use the lime without an orange - it gets bitter.) I KNOW. Little Boy was in a strange mood for his party. He was quiet and unenthusiastic about the mountain of presents. He cheered up when he saw the cupcakes, but was so down he didn't really want to go outside.

Yesterday was Sunday. That's about the best thing I can say about the day. So that's all I'll say.

DH is outside working on the playhouse. I am so proud of him. He has done such a great job of tolerating his father's "help" and temper. He has the roof 99% done and has 75% of the siding done; all in a week interrupted many times by rain and kids and birthday parties. I am so looking forward to moving toys out there and reclaiming some of our living room floor again.

So I'm glad to be starting a new week. Tonight we're starting to decorate for VBS. Should be fun. I'm at the point where things are a lot more fun. Writing curriculum was a good challenge, but toward the end I was definitely struggling to finish it up.

Baby is crying for me. Bye.

Where'd my baby go?

Little Boy turned 5 today. It just does not seem right. It was just a short time ago I was strapped to the table and the doctor pulled him out and he peed everywhere. I cried when she said we had a boy. The nurse sitting by me asked if I was ok and asked what we were naming him. I just remember being so happy that I had survived. I went to recovery and slept for a really long time. I think they were starting to worry a bit, b/c there were 3 nurses trying to wake me up and one of them was using smelling salts. Once I was awake, I was impatient. I wanted to go to my room and see my baby. So many sweet memories that were overridden today by SCREAMING AND FIGHTING. My kids need to get a summer job, or something. They are driving me nuts. And if you could see my house right now.... And we're having a party here tomorrow and I need to bake cupcakes, and . . .

BYE.

Oh, and one more Baby-ism

I was changing a horrid didie in the midst of her being sick. She asked, "Where did that icky stuff come from? My BUNS?!"

I couldn't help laughing, so it's ok if you laugh, too.

This is my daughter at supper the other day. She wore Daddy's shades all through dinner.

Baby's take

Baby has said some pretty funny things lately. The other day Little Boy was getting a shower - with Daddy helping - and Baby walked in. She started laughing out loud. I asked her what was so funny. She was still laughing when she told me about Little Boy's "squirter". I guess boys' anatomy IS funny.

We were at the lake and a hummingbird flew up to one of MIL's feeders. Baby asked her grandma what the "picker" was doing.

We were in the yard and I pointed out a mockingbird that was on the very top of the telephone pole. She put her little hand up like a visor and asked, "Where is the honkingbird?"

During the 2 1/2 weeks she was dealing with her bowel problems, we were at the store. I was wandering the aisles with her looking for something she would/could eat. At some point, very loudly, she asked me, "What's wrong with my butt!" She was also pretending to hit people as we walked past. Many men seemed to think that was funny. ? And while we were walking, suddenly she screamed and then laughed. She kept doing this - I guess she likes to hear her echo in the big store.

Right now she is begging me, "I wanna sit on your "wap", Mommy." Guess I better go.

A watched pot never boils...

and a watched child never poops! Well, it took her a long time. Finally, though, she did and I made the mad dash to the hospital lab - I made it to the lab with 12 minutes to spare! I was driving like a crazy person, screaming at people to get out of the way because I had poop in the car! Probably a good thing they couldn't hear me. And I was worried that I'd get pulled over and wouldn't get there in time! Can you imagine me telling the officer, "Sorry, sir, but I am on a poop run!" Let's hope they can figure out why she's sick.

Poop Run

Oh, the joys of being a mommy! I took Baby to the doctor again today. She's been sick for about 3 weeks now. It started as a cold with lots of drainage. Then 2 weeks ago she barfed all morning. Followed by icky didies. And more and more and more. So last week I took her in, and the dr. said that these things usually take care of themselves within the first 2 weeks, but that if she was feeling sick still in 7 days, to bring her back.

So, today we went back. And saw a different doctor. In the course of the exam, I told him she probably picked it up at church. He said preachers don't like him, b/c he says church is the worst about contagious stuff. He said kids get exposed on Sundays and are in to see a doctor on Wednesday. But that since fewer people are going to church, that phenomenon was dwindling. I told him that DH has said we should keep them home.

So, he wants stool cultures. We have one hour from the time she poops until the time I get it to the lab. We live about 45 minutes away from the hospital. You do the math. Scoop the poop, write the time on the containers and papers, and RUN to the car and DRIVE like crazy! DH is working last shift, so if she poops while he's sleeping, add another step - WAKE up, Dear! I'm leaving on a Poop Run!

I had to say it

Didn't I? My last post was about it supposing to be summer. Yesterday and today were well into the 90s. Blah. Not my kind of weather.

Isn't it supposed to be summer?

Or at least late spring? Here in our home, it's more like winter flu season. Baby barfed all morning. A couple times in the kitchen, a couple times in the bathroom, a couple times in the living room (on towels and sheets thankfully!) and a couple times outside on the porch. And she kept begging for something to drink. That was the hardest part, I think.

Just before the kids woke up, I was sitting in the LR and waves of nausea started hitting me. I turned on our (new) ceiling fan and tried to concentrate on not barfing. Of course, Little Boy woke up and wanted to race Mario Wii. Every time he ran into something, the sound about killed me. I kept turning the volume down when he wasn't watching. I was just dreading Baby waking up. She napped well and woke up starving. I tried to pace her.

She did well, and at some point, I felt much better. After she ate, we spent some time on the porch - if she was going to barf red jello, I wanted it to be outside!

They are both in bed and I have some quiet time to myself before DH gets home. He's on 2nd shift; I'm looking forward to sleeping in??? He is just coming off his long weekend - 4 days with him home. I never thought that I would be glad to see him go back. Last week he worked so much overtime, his check was more than doubled. Really good, because Monday I spent alot of $$$ at Sam's on Monday.

Monday, I took Baby to the eye doctor. We've started patching, and it seems to be going well. We alternate eyes for four weeks 2-4 hours a day, and off for 2 weeks. Then we go back to the specialist. She explained that patching is so effective that she expects to see results. If there is no change, she said we would talk about surgery. I have to keep myself from worrying. I just have to make sure I'm consistent.