Hello everyone!
I am so thrilled to be writing this to you today! Two nights ago I had to reboot my computer because it was being terribly slow and giving me error messages. Annoyed, I turned it off and back on again and the first screen it showed me was blue, which is a sign no computer owner wants to see, especially when she hasn’t backed up her system since the spring!
My computer crashed. I didn’t want to believe it, so I rebooted it again, but got the same fatal error. I had to accept it with a sigh and a cuff to the back of my head, reminiscent of my days under the care of my oldest sister. :P I did not want to take the next step in this story, which was telling my husband what happened, someone who works with computers and their problems (and the people who create those problems) every day. Without him telling me, I knew he didn’t want to spend the time or effort on it. With his leaving town today and returning tomorrow night and then family coming for the holiday, he didn’t have any time to spare. I knew this, and he knew I knew this, but he had to tell me anyway in that loud, annoyed and impatient way he has. And I told him, even though I know he knows, but I told him anyway, that my family and friends are in this here computer and if he didn’t do it, I was going to call the traveling geeks and spend at least $100 on something he could fix for free. I also mentioned some other things I won't talk about here, since this is a family blog!
I left him to it and when I came back later, he was burning music CD’s to take on his business trip. Success! He had worked his magic, so here I am! Darn it though that his victory didn’t fix my outgoing email problem. It seems every three months or so I have trouble with my provider. Last week it was incoming mail and beginning two days ago it’s now my outgoing mail! I’ve sent them another email which I’m told has been forwarded to another person to get it fixed.
Anyway – let’s get to my boys!
Hunter’s school called me today about 1:00 to say that he was being sent home early. I sent a text to my husband who had been on the road for about three hours by then and passed on the news, with a couple extra words like, Got in fight. A few blank lines down I included the letters JJ, for Just Joking. Apparently he didn’t see that part because he immediately called and said, What’s this? Did he win?? This is a running joke with us because Hunter will probably never get in a verbal battle, let alone a physical fight. My son wasn’t in trouble. Because of the previous day of rain and today’s snowfall, the school was sending kids home early before the roads became hazardous. He returns to school on Monday, which is his 11th birthday!
Monday marks another significant event for Hunter. If you go back to my update around the time Hunter started fourth grade, you’ll remember my telling you how Hunter and I went to his classroom to meet his teacher and learned that Ms. G had been in an accident and would not be returning to the school for some time. Well, that time has come. On Monday she will be there full time and Mrs. T is out. I’m told that today and yesterday she had one on one meetings with every student and I was reassured that she read Hunter’s file. What she didn’t do, however, which sits a bit foul in my stomach honestly, is attend Hunter’s IEP meeting which we had yesterday morning and will be in effect from yesterdays date to November 23rd 2009. They told me she would only be doing so much in these first two days back, but that she and Mrs. T have been talking about Hunter. I know that the two teachers were meeting with him today to talk about a solution the IEP team and myself agreed on. Read more about it below.
Hunter still isn’t asking for help and it’s affected some of his grades. I’m getting ahead of myself. While reviewing last years IEP, we talked about the class aide. I asked how that was working out this year and the faces across from me went from smiling and eager to blank and uncertain. Apparently there is an aide in his class again this year, as there is supposed to be, but the aide is assigned to one child specifically and has not helped Hunter at all. He doesn’t need a lot of help, but he does need some direction at times when the teacher’s hands are full with 31 other kids. According to the paperwork in front of every person at that meeting, Hunter should have been receiving assistance in the classroom up to December 1st. My reason for being upset is that Hunter has brought home quite a few tests where he has gotten many wrong because he didn’t remember to use scrap paper so he would have more space to write out his answers. It’s those little things that make the difference with him.
To make a long story short, we agreed that Hunter needed some sort of cue to let the teacher know that he needs help. We think he doesn’t ask because he doesn’t want other kids to see him asking for help or getting something wrong. So we came up with the idea of using a small item of some sort provided by his teacher. If it’s something of his he’ll want to play with it. When he takes this item out and puts it on his desk, that’s the signal for the teacher or the aide to come and see what he needs. After that I felt better about signing the new IEP.
Last week was parent/teacher conferences. We couldn’t get our sitter to cover for us, so Tim stayed behind with the boys. Mrs. T was very positive about Hunter. He is still doing great work in all areas and he has made noticeable improvements in his printing! The only thing counting against him, although Mrs. T chuckled about it and I, having been guilty of it myself, had to as well, is Hunter sneaking in a page or two from the current book (or three) he’s reading when he should be doing his school work! She says he puts it back in his desk right away, but in-between subjects she knows what he’s doing!
On to Devin and I have great news about him! He’s using the potty! For the past two weeks he’s been wearing underwear while at home. In the morning he tries to go when we take off the diaper and he is great about putting the underwear on afterward. Actually, last week he didn’t wear anything at all but a shirt and, well, I didn’t get to him in time and he pooped all over the floor. There was a trail from where he headed toward the bathroom, so he tried to make it. But following that trail was Bryce, who stepped in it and was reaching down to play with some when Tim and I came on the scene. What brought us running was Devin’s wail because he knew what was happening. He had the same reaction when he peed in his underwear for the first time. But here we are in the second week, maybe about five days wearing underwear and have only had four wet accidents and only one of them was real big! He hasn’t pooped in the toilet yet, but he’s interested! He often calls for me to run fast to the bathroom behind as he sprints ahead, just loving his little bum in either Cars or little dinosaur underwear. In his excitement he often overshoots the bathroom door. His left leg is still going while his right leg stops as he tries to turn into the bathroom with a Whoa! That was close! I turn the light on for him and he lifts one lid and I remind him to lift the second lid while he tucks the hem of his shirt under his chin and proceeds to make bubbles with a huge grin on his face! After an especially good amount of bubbles he’ll jump in the air with his arms up and exclaim, Yes!, giving me a high five and sometimes telling me to give him a hug.
He’s also caught the eyes of some ladies! Last weekend the weather was crappy so we took everyone to the spongy playground in the mall. Hunter being almost 11 and too tall for the equipment meant for kids no older than seven or eight, found himself a seat in the back and read his book (any surprise there?). Dev and B took off to slide, climb and conquer. Tim and I took turns leaving to shop and coming back and positioning ourselves by the open entry way, preventing B and other quick children from escaping. During all but maybe the first 20 minutes of the hour and a half we were there, two boys and their parents came to play. These two boys, on the other hand, were one head taller and the same as Hunter and also both were quite a bit wider. At the start they were just walking around and sitting on some of the equipment, but then they started chasing each other and running and knocking each other over. At one point one of the boys jumped over the side and into the miniature version of a local minor league baseball team's stadium, landing on a four or five year old who was sitting inside. The smaller boy was OK, he pushed back, but I couldn’t believe the parents just sat over there and let their children, who were well over the height limit measured by the charming forest creatures clustered around the measuring stick by the door. On our way out Tim called security and reported the family and honestly I didn’t feel guilty at all because those boys were obviously too far grown to be in there.
I said all that in preparation for this! On our way from the indoor playground, Devin ran a bit in front of us, emphasizing the movements of his arms and legs. He stopped when we called, looked back and then continued walking and ended up next to two girls about eleven or twelve. He looked up at the one nearest him, smiled and waved. His eyes fell on the purple, large sequined bag she carried over one shoulder. He took a step closer and touched one of the shiny discs and then told the girl he liked it! Then he walked next to them like he was their traveling companion. The girls kept looking at each other and giggling. Finally they took a left into a store and we had to call him back because he was going with them. They looked back and giggled again and when he saw, he waved, too.
We finally got Dev a real toddler bed and not just a crib with one side missing! After getting sticker shock for how much a new Devin sized bed and mattress would cost us, we rummaged around Craig’s List and found a race car bed and mattress for $50! So after Hunter and I got back from geocaching this past Saturday morning, Tim drove about an hour to get the bed. While there he filled the tank at $1.58 a gallon! Devin loves his bed, but within seconds after sitting on it the first time he said, Where’s the steering wheel? (I realize now I forgot to take a pic.)
We probably would still be procrastinating if B hadn’t suddenly appeared beside Tim sitting in the recliner. Apparently he had not only climbed out of his porta crib, but landed quietly and without injury on the toys scattered through out his room and then left by the partially opened bedroom door. It was a work day so I stayed up with Bryce who fell asleep just before midnight and I could put him back in his crib without worrying, at least until morning, of him climbing out and wandering around. The next day I took the crib apart and reassembled it in B’s room after retrieving the missing side from the attic. Devin slept two nights I think it was on a single sized air mattress before we presented him with the race car bed.
Bryce is doing absolutely wonderful! He’s not eating everything in sight anymore. He’s become as picky as Devin, which means the dogs are going to be getting fat this winter because almost his entire meal lands on the floor! He still does not like my dropping him off once or twice a week with a sitter. As soon as I open the door he starts to cry. I’m told his crying bouts are getting shorter though. Sometimes Bryce just walks around not touching anything, but I can see he’s thinking behind those soft brown eyes. He’s looking at everything around him, wondering what he can get into next, working things out. We found out what happens when he throws his dad’s cell phone on a tiled floor, what he can do with a pen you didn’t think he could possibly get to open and did you know an 18 month old can make the number 116 appear on your TV screen and make you spend an astonishing amount of time trying to fix it and not being able to figure it out??
Well, I think that’s all for this week. Be sure to check out my website. I made a video of Hunter and a science experiment he wanted to share with all of you.
Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!
Yo
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Report cards, stubborness and mess makers!
Let’s start with this morning (11/13). Devin had waffles and a yogurt, Bryce a waffle and some cut up banana because I didn’t want to clean up the mess he makes if given yogurt. When I let Bryce loose Devin wasn’t done. I was dumb and went downstairs and started folding a huge pile of laundry, since I do live, as my blog is titled, On Top of Mt. Laundry. Anyway, I was making progress when Bryce appears at the bottom of the stairs like I knew he would, and toddles quickly over to me, all smiles. He’s still snug and warm in a red footed sleeper. As he draws closer I notice his belly and chest are smeared with something…pink. I smell sweet fruit and see his stubby fingers and chubby cheeks are covered in cold yogurt! Oh, no. I don’t wanna go upstairs. Please, don’t make me! There’s no one else here but me and the child who didn’t finish the yogurt and doesn’t remember to throw it away when he’s done.
The table and the chair Bryce climbed up on were smeared with the drying goop, but all I could find on the floor underneath and around was the empty, suspiciously yogurt free container. It seems without me around the dogs parked themselves underneath Bryce and pounced on that container before it could spill its sticky contents onto the floor. I considered laying Bryce on the floor and having the dogs lick him clean, but I decided that wasn’t such a good idea and stripped and wiped him down.
Then, Devin wanted Fruit Loops for his afternoon snack. I gave him a bowl and put the half empty box on the counter. Later I hear him filling up his bowl again and I called to him to only fill the bowl one more time. I hear it again and when I came back into the room to tell him that was enough, he told me it was for Knight as he patted the dogs head as Knight quickly ate the bowls contents before I could take it away. The cereal box was then empty.
Poor Kit has come running to me and cowering between my feet. Soon after, Devin appears from around the corner with a toy chasing Kit, or his pop gun shooting Kit or using his head to ram Kit. Neither words, time alone, nor a pop on the bum is getting my point across of, Do not chase Kit!. He’s also getting a little rougher with Bryce, but Bryce is holding his own. It’s being pushed down that gets him upset and seeing Dev smothering B with couch pillows gets me worked up.
It was the beginning of the eighth sleep filled night of putting B down to slumber when he didn’t make it through to morning. Devin shows up every other night, but Bryce was with that wonderful Sand Man for so many nights in a row I felt spoiled! But this one night my poor boy must have had growing pains. He woke up twice and the only way I could get him to go back to dream land was rocking him and massaging his right leg, which he kept moving around like you do when you try to get rid of those stubborn pins and needles. It was almost 4 AM that second time when he finally stayed down until 9:30, and then he was his happy and adventurous self!
I am going to start seriously potty training Devin. I’ve been letting him take the lead, but he’s going too slow for me. I don’t want to scrape any more poopy diapers! LOL Seriously, though, I only have so many diapers now that fit him, and he is coming up on 3 ½ years old! You’d think if he can tell his dad to drive faster because he’s poopy, he could sit on that seat and do the job!
Shall I mention Devin and his curiosity with boogers? No, let’s skip that one. But I will mention the 5:45 AM wailing that roused me so fast if I had been in the bunk beds of my younger years I probably would have knocked myself unconscious! I went upstairs squinting in the light over the table where Hunter was eating breakfast and into Devin’s room. When Dev paused from a cry I could hear Bryce beginning to fuss in the room next door. I quickly scanned Devin, wondering if a leg was broken. I asked him what was wrong. He sniffed and hiccupped that he wanted Kit. WHAT? Apparently Kit woke him when she left to climb into the great ball of blankets Hunter’s now vacant bed had become. Not sick, no pain, no blood, just that the dog had left him. I called Kit back into the room and lifted the blanket as she made herself comfortable. Devin rubbed his eyes and told me, Thank You. Bryce had fallen back asleep but I was up for the day and saw Hunter out the door.
I’ve mentioned before how I’ve started putting Devin and Bryce’s clean clothes in baskets instead of taking the time to fold and put them away. Bryce just meanders in each room and pulls clothes out of drawers. It’s easier and faster to just gather them up and plop them back into baskets. (I thought about putting names on each basket, but wondered if I did that, would I put clothes away ever again?) I have two bookshelves in the same room as this computer and every single wonderful, blessed day I have with this child, there is one part of the day where I find him in the middle of pulling all my books down or at the end where he’s perched himself on one of my treasured hard covers, chattering happily while assessing his hard work around him. All I can do is sigh and hope he hasn’t ripped any jackets. I use to shelf them in order as many of them are part of a series, but I don’t bother anymore. No, I’m not packing them up in boxes. I love my books.
Hunter had a dentist appointment last week. I am still shocked but very happy to report that Hunter will reach his 11th birthday next month with not a single cavity! He has been doing a poor job brushing his teeth now that school is back in session because I’m not hovering over him. Most mornings he doesn’t do it unless I tell him to. He had a lot of plaque to be scraped off this time around, but the doc gave him two thumbs up!
A few weeks back Hunter brought home a progress report. He was doing wonderfully in all subjects but Social Studies, which is actually called Ohio History in his 4th grade classroom. His score in that matter was 60%. From that report on I had him bring home his textbook and for his reading assignment he read that book instead of the Goosebumps or chapter books he so loves. His first report card of the year came home this past week. In past years that seem to have flown by this information was on colored, oversized paper, like I was opening a large but thin greeting card with the school’s mascot, a cheery looking husky, on the front. This year though, it’s a simple piece of your typical computer printer paper with bold boxes and some grey shaded areas. Inside these boxes I find that Hunter is doing excellent or satisfactory work in all but three areas. Art is low on the list of his favorite subjects. He’s never liked being told what he had to draw. He was given an S- in that little box with the comments of, “Needs to follow directions. Does not use care in completing work.” His Social Studies grade was a 70, up from a 60 a few weeks back! The other unacceptable grade (I told Hunter anything below 80 would make me unhappy) was a 77 in…Reading. What? WHAT? No way! Even back in Kindergarten Hunter had high scores in reading and has passed every AR tests he’s been given. I looked over the list and saw that for writing he was given an 89. Huh? Now THAT is wrong! Obviously there was a mistake. I sent in a note to the teacher, asking if she may have inadvertently switched his Reading and Writing grades. She wrote back and said that, yes, she had. She got it straightened out and Hunter’s school record is now correct.
I’ll end here with one more thing. If any of you have tried to Text me over the past two days, I was not able to see it. My cell phone had a software glitch and was doing things on its own and locking me out of other things. I traded it in for a new model of the same make and my Verizon rep. transferred my address book and music over to the new one, but was unable to keep my messages. So I wasn’t purposely ignoring you, I just couldn’t read or respond. I also have a request in to my email provider because I haven’t been able to send out emails, incoming is working fine. This update is almost done, but right now my emails not working I can’t tell you to stop what you’re doing and read it immediately! :)
I hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably warm weather. I know were in for a big change here tomorrow!
Take care,
Yo
The table and the chair Bryce climbed up on were smeared with the drying goop, but all I could find on the floor underneath and around was the empty, suspiciously yogurt free container. It seems without me around the dogs parked themselves underneath Bryce and pounced on that container before it could spill its sticky contents onto the floor. I considered laying Bryce on the floor and having the dogs lick him clean, but I decided that wasn’t such a good idea and stripped and wiped him down.
Then, Devin wanted Fruit Loops for his afternoon snack. I gave him a bowl and put the half empty box on the counter. Later I hear him filling up his bowl again and I called to him to only fill the bowl one more time. I hear it again and when I came back into the room to tell him that was enough, he told me it was for Knight as he patted the dogs head as Knight quickly ate the bowls contents before I could take it away. The cereal box was then empty.
Poor Kit has come running to me and cowering between my feet. Soon after, Devin appears from around the corner with a toy chasing Kit, or his pop gun shooting Kit or using his head to ram Kit. Neither words, time alone, nor a pop on the bum is getting my point across of, Do not chase Kit!. He’s also getting a little rougher with Bryce, but Bryce is holding his own. It’s being pushed down that gets him upset and seeing Dev smothering B with couch pillows gets me worked up.
It was the beginning of the eighth sleep filled night of putting B down to slumber when he didn’t make it through to morning. Devin shows up every other night, but Bryce was with that wonderful Sand Man for so many nights in a row I felt spoiled! But this one night my poor boy must have had growing pains. He woke up twice and the only way I could get him to go back to dream land was rocking him and massaging his right leg, which he kept moving around like you do when you try to get rid of those stubborn pins and needles. It was almost 4 AM that second time when he finally stayed down until 9:30, and then he was his happy and adventurous self!
I am going to start seriously potty training Devin. I’ve been letting him take the lead, but he’s going too slow for me. I don’t want to scrape any more poopy diapers! LOL Seriously, though, I only have so many diapers now that fit him, and he is coming up on 3 ½ years old! You’d think if he can tell his dad to drive faster because he’s poopy, he could sit on that seat and do the job!
Shall I mention Devin and his curiosity with boogers? No, let’s skip that one. But I will mention the 5:45 AM wailing that roused me so fast if I had been in the bunk beds of my younger years I probably would have knocked myself unconscious! I went upstairs squinting in the light over the table where Hunter was eating breakfast and into Devin’s room. When Dev paused from a cry I could hear Bryce beginning to fuss in the room next door. I quickly scanned Devin, wondering if a leg was broken. I asked him what was wrong. He sniffed and hiccupped that he wanted Kit. WHAT? Apparently Kit woke him when she left to climb into the great ball of blankets Hunter’s now vacant bed had become. Not sick, no pain, no blood, just that the dog had left him. I called Kit back into the room and lifted the blanket as she made herself comfortable. Devin rubbed his eyes and told me, Thank You. Bryce had fallen back asleep but I was up for the day and saw Hunter out the door.
I’ve mentioned before how I’ve started putting Devin and Bryce’s clean clothes in baskets instead of taking the time to fold and put them away. Bryce just meanders in each room and pulls clothes out of drawers. It’s easier and faster to just gather them up and plop them back into baskets. (I thought about putting names on each basket, but wondered if I did that, would I put clothes away ever again?) I have two bookshelves in the same room as this computer and every single wonderful, blessed day I have with this child, there is one part of the day where I find him in the middle of pulling all my books down or at the end where he’s perched himself on one of my treasured hard covers, chattering happily while assessing his hard work around him. All I can do is sigh and hope he hasn’t ripped any jackets. I use to shelf them in order as many of them are part of a series, but I don’t bother anymore. No, I’m not packing them up in boxes. I love my books.
Hunter had a dentist appointment last week. I am still shocked but very happy to report that Hunter will reach his 11th birthday next month with not a single cavity! He has been doing a poor job brushing his teeth now that school is back in session because I’m not hovering over him. Most mornings he doesn’t do it unless I tell him to. He had a lot of plaque to be scraped off this time around, but the doc gave him two thumbs up!
A few weeks back Hunter brought home a progress report. He was doing wonderfully in all subjects but Social Studies, which is actually called Ohio History in his 4th grade classroom. His score in that matter was 60%. From that report on I had him bring home his textbook and for his reading assignment he read that book instead of the Goosebumps or chapter books he so loves. His first report card of the year came home this past week. In past years that seem to have flown by this information was on colored, oversized paper, like I was opening a large but thin greeting card with the school’s mascot, a cheery looking husky, on the front. This year though, it’s a simple piece of your typical computer printer paper with bold boxes and some grey shaded areas. Inside these boxes I find that Hunter is doing excellent or satisfactory work in all but three areas. Art is low on the list of his favorite subjects. He’s never liked being told what he had to draw. He was given an S- in that little box with the comments of, “Needs to follow directions. Does not use care in completing work.” His Social Studies grade was a 70, up from a 60 a few weeks back! The other unacceptable grade (I told Hunter anything below 80 would make me unhappy) was a 77 in…Reading. What? WHAT? No way! Even back in Kindergarten Hunter had high scores in reading and has passed every AR tests he’s been given. I looked over the list and saw that for writing he was given an 89. Huh? Now THAT is wrong! Obviously there was a mistake. I sent in a note to the teacher, asking if she may have inadvertently switched his Reading and Writing grades. She wrote back and said that, yes, she had. She got it straightened out and Hunter’s school record is now correct.
I’ll end here with one more thing. If any of you have tried to Text me over the past two days, I was not able to see it. My cell phone had a software glitch and was doing things on its own and locking me out of other things. I traded it in for a new model of the same make and my Verizon rep. transferred my address book and music over to the new one, but was unable to keep my messages. So I wasn’t purposely ignoring you, I just couldn’t read or respond. I also have a request in to my email provider because I haven’t been able to send out emails, incoming is working fine. This update is almost done, but right now my emails not working I can’t tell you to stop what you’re doing and read it immediately! :)
I hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably warm weather. I know were in for a big change here tomorrow!
Take care,
Yo
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Our weekend in Hocking Hills.
No more Kentucky days! I’m kinda bummed about that since last year I briefly met a mom I had been chatting with since I was bout 5 months pregnant with Devin. Nevertheless, after going there for six years we’ve moved on to another location, with no complaints from me! Kathy found us a great cabin in 80 acres of woods in Nelsonville, Ohio, more specifically, the Hocking Hills area fifty miles southeast of Columbus. Both Tim and my brother in law Jeff know this area for hunting and both wish their schedules had been different so they could have joined us. With five kids and five adults, we were already a full cabin!
Before leaving I had printed out online directions to our cabin in the woods. The page was full of turn after turn on roads I felt I’d get lost on. I asked Tim if I could borrow one of the two GPS systems his company owns, but he was taking one to N.D., and someone was taking the other. I was fine with that. I had the directions and my cell phone; we’d make it one way or the other. Then Tim came home and thanked me for patching up his favorite hunting jacket that a mouse had made a path through with my own Tom Tom brand GPS! I quickly got familiar with it and chose a male voice called Richard to help me get to Nelsonville. Soon I was referring to this piece of technology as him or Richard.
He got us there with no problems at all. Once we arrived at the two track to the cabin the blue arrow on Richard’s screen that represented the GPS unit in my van floated off into nothing, but the cabin was easy to find once on that rugged road. The boys and I arrived about the same time as my parents. After waiting a few minutes for the owners to come and give us the right key (parents had already stopped at their house and were given the wrong one) we followed the leaf covered two track to the cabin. Sister Jennifer arrived about an hour or so later and Karyn and the kids arrived the next morning.
Even though we had seen each other in July, every meeting we have is like a reunion. I get family withdrawals living in Ohio with no family around. (Another hint to those who want to start new…just in case you’re feeling dense. ) We didn’t have a lot planned, but what we did schedule was going to be fun!
Karyn and the kids got there in time to unpack before we had lunch and then headed to the train station. Devin got to ride a real train! After about a 30 minute delay the whistle blew and we were off. We sat together in an open car with a roof. At first I thought the wind was going to be cold, but it was perfect. When I heard the entire adventure was three hours long, I thought choosing to sit in the open with Bryce was going to be a problem, but Bryce loved the train ride. When we started moving he settled back in my lap and watched the scenery go by.
We passed some wide open spaces and saw some deer, but we also clanked and bounced through some dilapidated looking neighborhoods. There were houses that were only ten feet or so away from the track! Thank goodness the only train that used those tracks was the passenger train we had tickets for. I bet naps in the houses on our path weren’t scheduled around a baby’s routine, but also the whistle blowing train as well!
Our tour started off in one direction and then stopped and reversed back the way we had come. It was annoying at first until the people on the other side of our bench agreed to switch seats. On the way back we went past the train station and on to a remake of an 1800’s village on the property of a college. We leisurely strolled through weathered cabins where the children walked on stilts, rang a school house bell and made their own wax candles which ended up looking like ginger roots.
The next field trip was to COSI. Take a look at the link and see the pictures taken there for a narrative of what we did. Richard (my GPS) let us down a little. The COSI he took us to was actually a branch of the science museum at the Columbus Museum of Art. We were only about a mile away, but we had to park and ask for directions. (Can you guess how much I detest city driving??)
We read that with our age group (children, not the adults!) it was estimated that our trip there would be about two and a half to three hours. We arrived at about 12:30 and left as they were closing at 6:00! With five kids there was plenty for us to do and linger at. It was a great time.
The next morning Richard took us to Sears where we had the first appointment at the portrait studio there. Like last year the children were well behaved and we were quickly done. It may have helped that we had gummy worms and Blue’s Clue’s on a portable DVD player that kept the attention of the younger ones!
When we weren’t out and about we were in the cabin enjoying each others company. We played adult and kid games, decorated an edible haunted house, turned orange craft foam and real pumpkins into Jack O’ Lanterns. The cabin came with a trail we estimated to be about half a mile long. We walked that together and the children just had a lot of fun playing in the small front yard with the leaves, stones and dirt. Oh – the cabin also came with a hot tub and a fire pit, although we didn’t use the latter.
I probably missed something in there that you might learn about later amongst all the pictures I have yet to post. Hope I was able to convey to you, Tiffany, what you missed and am looking forward to you being there next October.
Before leaving I had printed out online directions to our cabin in the woods. The page was full of turn after turn on roads I felt I’d get lost on. I asked Tim if I could borrow one of the two GPS systems his company owns, but he was taking one to N.D., and someone was taking the other. I was fine with that. I had the directions and my cell phone; we’d make it one way or the other. Then Tim came home and thanked me for patching up his favorite hunting jacket that a mouse had made a path through with my own Tom Tom brand GPS! I quickly got familiar with it and chose a male voice called Richard to help me get to Nelsonville. Soon I was referring to this piece of technology as him or Richard.
He got us there with no problems at all. Once we arrived at the two track to the cabin the blue arrow on Richard’s screen that represented the GPS unit in my van floated off into nothing, but the cabin was easy to find once on that rugged road. The boys and I arrived about the same time as my parents. After waiting a few minutes for the owners to come and give us the right key (parents had already stopped at their house and were given the wrong one) we followed the leaf covered two track to the cabin. Sister Jennifer arrived about an hour or so later and Karyn and the kids arrived the next morning.
Even though we had seen each other in July, every meeting we have is like a reunion. I get family withdrawals living in Ohio with no family around. (Another hint to those who want to start new…just in case you’re feeling dense. ) We didn’t have a lot planned, but what we did schedule was going to be fun!
Karyn and the kids got there in time to unpack before we had lunch and then headed to the train station. Devin got to ride a real train! After about a 30 minute delay the whistle blew and we were off. We sat together in an open car with a roof. At first I thought the wind was going to be cold, but it was perfect. When I heard the entire adventure was three hours long, I thought choosing to sit in the open with Bryce was going to be a problem, but Bryce loved the train ride. When we started moving he settled back in my lap and watched the scenery go by.
We passed some wide open spaces and saw some deer, but we also clanked and bounced through some dilapidated looking neighborhoods. There were houses that were only ten feet or so away from the track! Thank goodness the only train that used those tracks was the passenger train we had tickets for. I bet naps in the houses on our path weren’t scheduled around a baby’s routine, but also the whistle blowing train as well!
Our tour started off in one direction and then stopped and reversed back the way we had come. It was annoying at first until the people on the other side of our bench agreed to switch seats. On the way back we went past the train station and on to a remake of an 1800’s village on the property of a college. We leisurely strolled through weathered cabins where the children walked on stilts, rang a school house bell and made their own wax candles which ended up looking like ginger roots.
The next field trip was to COSI. Take a look at the link and see the pictures taken there for a narrative of what we did. Richard (my GPS) let us down a little. The COSI he took us to was actually a branch of the science museum at the Columbus Museum of Art. We were only about a mile away, but we had to park and ask for directions. (Can you guess how much I detest city driving??)
We read that with our age group (children, not the adults!) it was estimated that our trip there would be about two and a half to three hours. We arrived at about 12:30 and left as they were closing at 6:00! With five kids there was plenty for us to do and linger at. It was a great time.
The next morning Richard took us to Sears where we had the first appointment at the portrait studio there. Like last year the children were well behaved and we were quickly done. It may have helped that we had gummy worms and Blue’s Clue’s on a portable DVD player that kept the attention of the younger ones!
When we weren’t out and about we were in the cabin enjoying each others company. We played adult and kid games, decorated an edible haunted house, turned orange craft foam and real pumpkins into Jack O’ Lanterns. The cabin came with a trail we estimated to be about half a mile long. We walked that together and the children just had a lot of fun playing in the small front yard with the leaves, stones and dirt. Oh – the cabin also came with a hot tub and a fire pit, although we didn’t use the latter.
I probably missed something in there that you might learn about later amongst all the pictures I have yet to post. Hope I was able to convey to you, Tiffany, what you missed and am looking forward to you being there next October.
Yolanda's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad 10 Days
Hello everyone. Yes. Here is my update, finally. After all the heck I gave my dad and Karyn about sending me pictures immediately after our weekend together (with Karyn I joking told her to do so even before unbuckling her children from their car seats) here it is almost a month and still no update!
Well, I was composing a short story for you all, a continuation of Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. My version was called The Later Years and was about a mom and four boys, ahem, a husband and three boys, so, obviously, it was about me. Unfortunately, perfectionism creeps up and takes over sometimes and as I don’t get much personal time around here, I haven’t finished it. Instead, I’ll just list the things that made one week so awful.
• Before Tim left for a 10 day trip to N.D., Devin said, “Let me help you, mama” and locked the van doors with my keys in it. We were dropping B off at the sitter’s before gymnastics. Tim was able to rescue us.
• My husband left me for 10 days with three children and a dog in a house with three entrances and five windows at ground level (I have a point for mentioning such details.)
• The first couple nights were fine. I think it’s good to be separated from your spouse once in awhile. Being apart helps you remember why you love and appreciate the one you married. I was missing my hubby with every bump in the night. Sleeping downstairs each sound reverberated through my ceiling. Most of it was Kit, jumping down and traveling back and forth between the body heat of Hunter and Devin in their beds. I finally made her a bed downstairs next to the fire and she settled down. I only made things worse by watching a suspenseful movie, therefore the mention of how many doors and windows we have because I checked and rechecked them all!
• One morning I walked into Bryce’s room and right into a wall of stink. He had been in a poopy diaper long enough to get a nasty rash, therefore producing an unhappy boy.
• Oh, yes. While my husband was still gone spending his time with men, dogs and feathers, Devin did it again. This time I have to take some of the blame. I was unloading groceries and Devin was still in the van. I came back and took him as the last load, closing the van side door as I went. Nothing so bad about that, right? Wrong! The next morning we all went out so innocent and happy, looking forward to the library and chicken and French fries, when what do I discover? The van doors are locked. What do I see hanging from the ignition? That’s right! My keys AGAIN! Devin’s sweet voice asking me what’s wrong made it even more memorable! I gave Bryce a piece of chalk to keep him occupied, sent Dev into the back yard and attempted what I saw the policeman do that rainy day I first locked my keys in the van a few weeks back, starting this chain of three times a charm crap. It worked, ‘cause now I remove my keys each time I turn the van off and my gentle attempt to break in also worked! After 45 minutes I was able to unlock the door.
• Can’t forget the breathtaking fact of Kit being sprayed by a skunk. Apparently our fence doesn’t keep the bigger critters out. I’ve been lax since the installation of our simple fence, so when Kit went outside to do her business before lights out, I just let her go. I saw her ears perk up as she started down the steps and then she sprinted off in that way she has that sends squirrels running for their lives. I heard her bark and then suddenly stop. She didn’t squeal or growl, she just turned around because she was back scrambling up the steps sneezing and hacking almost as fast as when she took off. She was in the house and rubbing her face in my couch cushions before I caught whiff of a burnt balloon smell. I’ve never actually smelled a burnt balloon, but if I do, it would be the first stage of a skunk spray. It wasn’t until morning, after I gagged my way into banishing the dog into the garage, removing the cushions and pouring out bowls of vinegar did the characteristic skunk smell take over.
• Tim still gone and me still having a hard time sleeping and silently cussing that the man of the house is gone AND he took the 90 pound dog and left me with a ten pound shivering weenie!
• Hunter was picture perfect during this time. Getting his homework done, showered and into bed. Waking up without problems and catching the bus. Helping me with his brothers, just overall being the ideal child. Then I read in his communication notebook that he’s been writing “concerning and worrisome” entries in his school journal. What does he write? The teacher doesn’t say! How can she write to a mom telling her her son wrote something troublesome and not tell her what it was or give her a copy of the entry?! The only thing she wrote was to ask him about it. I did and Hunter told me of his last two entries. When I asked him if there was anything in there he wanted to share with me about his feelings or actions, he said no. I wrote asking the teacher to explain in more detail. Either she ignored it or didn’t see it. I finally had to call the office and leave a message for the teacher to call me. Finally I get a copy of the journal pages that were causing me stress. He wrote things like, “This is sick” “I wish all schools would shut down” “I don’t get any respect” and “I hope I get what I want”. I reminded the teacher that Hunter still uses other people’s words when he talks, mostly TV characters. If he doesn’t know what to say, or in this case, write, he’ll repeat something he’s heard. I told her unless there is a pattern of thought here, not just these few sentences, I’m not concerned.
And the winner of Yolanda’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad and LONG 10 days is…
• I walked into B’s room to wake him from his afternoon nap. What I saw first registered as too cute. He had taken off his diaper and was sleeping with his little bare bum in the air. But as I got closer and breathed through my nose, it wasn’t so cute anymore. Underneath and around and on my youngest son was poop. Poop on his bottom, poop on the sheet, poop smeared around the inside of his crib. I picked him up, wondering if it could be even worse? Yup. The hands rubbing his tired eyes were poop encased. The stinky stuff was on his shirt, on his face and probably had been in his mouth because there were dried smudges on his lips. Oh, yeah. I gave him a bath, tossed clothes and sheets into the washing machine and spent a good amount of time scrubbing the crib inside and out. Hunter and Devin never took off their diapers, but I don’t remember seeing them with their hands down their pants as much as Bryce!
Tim returned home with no problems and with a cooler full of wild game. He was welcomed home with hugs and kisses, but also with the evil eye from me!
Well, I was composing a short story for you all, a continuation of Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. My version was called The Later Years and was about a mom and four boys, ahem, a husband and three boys, so, obviously, it was about me. Unfortunately, perfectionism creeps up and takes over sometimes and as I don’t get much personal time around here, I haven’t finished it. Instead, I’ll just list the things that made one week so awful.
• Before Tim left for a 10 day trip to N.D., Devin said, “Let me help you, mama” and locked the van doors with my keys in it. We were dropping B off at the sitter’s before gymnastics. Tim was able to rescue us.
• My husband left me for 10 days with three children and a dog in a house with three entrances and five windows at ground level (I have a point for mentioning such details.)
• The first couple nights were fine. I think it’s good to be separated from your spouse once in awhile. Being apart helps you remember why you love and appreciate the one you married. I was missing my hubby with every bump in the night. Sleeping downstairs each sound reverberated through my ceiling. Most of it was Kit, jumping down and traveling back and forth between the body heat of Hunter and Devin in their beds. I finally made her a bed downstairs next to the fire and she settled down. I only made things worse by watching a suspenseful movie, therefore the mention of how many doors and windows we have because I checked and rechecked them all!
• One morning I walked into Bryce’s room and right into a wall of stink. He had been in a poopy diaper long enough to get a nasty rash, therefore producing an unhappy boy.
• Oh, yes. While my husband was still gone spending his time with men, dogs and feathers, Devin did it again. This time I have to take some of the blame. I was unloading groceries and Devin was still in the van. I came back and took him as the last load, closing the van side door as I went. Nothing so bad about that, right? Wrong! The next morning we all went out so innocent and happy, looking forward to the library and chicken and French fries, when what do I discover? The van doors are locked. What do I see hanging from the ignition? That’s right! My keys AGAIN! Devin’s sweet voice asking me what’s wrong made it even more memorable! I gave Bryce a piece of chalk to keep him occupied, sent Dev into the back yard and attempted what I saw the policeman do that rainy day I first locked my keys in the van a few weeks back, starting this chain of three times a charm crap. It worked, ‘cause now I remove my keys each time I turn the van off and my gentle attempt to break in also worked! After 45 minutes I was able to unlock the door.
• Can’t forget the breathtaking fact of Kit being sprayed by a skunk. Apparently our fence doesn’t keep the bigger critters out. I’ve been lax since the installation of our simple fence, so when Kit went outside to do her business before lights out, I just let her go. I saw her ears perk up as she started down the steps and then she sprinted off in that way she has that sends squirrels running for their lives. I heard her bark and then suddenly stop. She didn’t squeal or growl, she just turned around because she was back scrambling up the steps sneezing and hacking almost as fast as when she took off. She was in the house and rubbing her face in my couch cushions before I caught whiff of a burnt balloon smell. I’ve never actually smelled a burnt balloon, but if I do, it would be the first stage of a skunk spray. It wasn’t until morning, after I gagged my way into banishing the dog into the garage, removing the cushions and pouring out bowls of vinegar did the characteristic skunk smell take over.
• Tim still gone and me still having a hard time sleeping and silently cussing that the man of the house is gone AND he took the 90 pound dog and left me with a ten pound shivering weenie!
• Hunter was picture perfect during this time. Getting his homework done, showered and into bed. Waking up without problems and catching the bus. Helping me with his brothers, just overall being the ideal child. Then I read in his communication notebook that he’s been writing “concerning and worrisome” entries in his school journal. What does he write? The teacher doesn’t say! How can she write to a mom telling her her son wrote something troublesome and not tell her what it was or give her a copy of the entry?! The only thing she wrote was to ask him about it. I did and Hunter told me of his last two entries. When I asked him if there was anything in there he wanted to share with me about his feelings or actions, he said no. I wrote asking the teacher to explain in more detail. Either she ignored it or didn’t see it. I finally had to call the office and leave a message for the teacher to call me. Finally I get a copy of the journal pages that were causing me stress. He wrote things like, “This is sick” “I wish all schools would shut down” “I don’t get any respect” and “I hope I get what I want”. I reminded the teacher that Hunter still uses other people’s words when he talks, mostly TV characters. If he doesn’t know what to say, or in this case, write, he’ll repeat something he’s heard. I told her unless there is a pattern of thought here, not just these few sentences, I’m not concerned.
And the winner of Yolanda’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad and LONG 10 days is…
• I walked into B’s room to wake him from his afternoon nap. What I saw first registered as too cute. He had taken off his diaper and was sleeping with his little bare bum in the air. But as I got closer and breathed through my nose, it wasn’t so cute anymore. Underneath and around and on my youngest son was poop. Poop on his bottom, poop on the sheet, poop smeared around the inside of his crib. I picked him up, wondering if it could be even worse? Yup. The hands rubbing his tired eyes were poop encased. The stinky stuff was on his shirt, on his face and probably had been in his mouth because there were dried smudges on his lips. Oh, yeah. I gave him a bath, tossed clothes and sheets into the washing machine and spent a good amount of time scrubbing the crib inside and out. Hunter and Devin never took off their diapers, but I don’t remember seeing them with their hands down their pants as much as Bryce!
Tim returned home with no problems and with a cooler full of wild game. He was welcomed home with hugs and kisses, but also with the evil eye from me!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A little boy named Max.
Read and see pictures about a little boy who has a story to tell. Even if you don't want to hear it.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Do you like scavenger hunts?
Last year I came across a link to the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt while chatting with other moms about cloth diapers. I love scavenger hunts and found myself addicted after I discoverd that first little diaper icon. I have participated in the GCDH two times now and each time my eyes are opened to the wonderful world of work at home moms and natural family living. Not only is the hunt fun with rhymes, riddles and trivia questions (which can easily be Googled if you’re stumped!) but you can bookmark stores that have caught your eye to return to later. Most sponsors have discounts only for participating hunters, many of which run through December and holiday shopping!
How does it work? It’s very simple! Registration began October 15th. Once you register here, you start visiting all the participating sponsor sites and hunt for the Diaper Decisions diaper to earn entries into 65 random prize drawings, including two Grand Prizes and one Ultimate Grand Prize! The hunt starts Saturday, November 1st at 11:00 AM EST!
If you’d like even more details you can visit the Rules and FAQ page at Diaper Decisions.
How does it work? It’s very simple! Registration began October 15th. Once you register here, you start visiting all the participating sponsor sites and hunt for the Diaper Decisions diaper to earn entries into 65 random prize drawings, including two Grand Prizes and one Ultimate Grand Prize! The hunt starts Saturday, November 1st at 11:00 AM EST!
If you’d like even more details you can visit the Rules and FAQ page at Diaper Decisions.
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