baby’s big boo-boo

January 30, 2015 | Stacy

I saw it unfold before my eyes and couldn’t do anything to stop it

running after Hanny, Katriel tripped and started to go down

just inches ahead of where I could reach and falling far faster than my legs could cover the distance down she went

and before her head ever hit the wall I knew –just knew- she was too close

her head hit the corner and snapped back, me encircling her mid section as she went down

I scooper her up, with her still facing out from me, and I backed up, opened the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice – calling for my big kids

she didn’t cry but struggled to catch her breath in the shock – I was afraid to look. I’d seen what a corner of the cabinet did to Marie’s head once

as the boys arrived just seconds after the impact I commanded them to look for me. I just couldn’t. I pulled the ice away and they both recoiled. They quickly found their voices and said, “It’s not bleeding.”

THANK YOU GOD.

it’s amazing how fast our minds work. I was already trying to figure out how I’d get her to urgent care and wondering how they’d stitch her head

she started to cry and protest the ice – the shock having worn off some. Nigel held her arms down as I maintained the ice.

siblings sang to her and I wondered for the umpteenth time if I have what it takes to be a mom and Praised God for His protection

When I finally gave up on icing…

The point of impact…

Later that evening…

Three days later…

Ducky’s first haircut

January 21, 2015 | Stacy

Okay – truth be told I took some scissors to Katriel’s hair once or twice in the fall. But as I was preparing to have her photos taken for her second upcoming second birthday, I went ahead and took her in to have her hair cut properly. Thankfully, our friend Maggie is a stylist in a salon close by and I knew just where we’d go.

When we got there, Katriel had oodles of attention from two of Maggie’s co-workers as we waited for Maggie to finish with a customer. Properly warmed up, we head over to Maggie’s station for the big event.

Stewart cracks up at how stiff-legged she was. Although very out-going with her siblings, she really doesn’t get out much, and I often forget to imagine things from her point of view. She didn’t fuss, but for sure she had no idea what was going on.

The first thing to go was a little curly pig-tail-thingy she’d been growing since birth. *sigh*

I think she looks a little uncomfortable. Stewart thinks her mind is on other things, like, “I wonder what is for lunch tomorrow.”

When all was done, Maggie’s friend put this pouf in her hair and Maggie gave her a certificate. Pretty fancy stuff for number 6!

Friendly competition

December 29, 2014 | Stacy

With no major project slated for the two-week break we took over the holidays (um, the kitchen update left us too broke to take on our pending master bedroom project), we had to come up with other ways to entertain ourselves.
Somewhere along the line we though up Monopoly…
We started our first game ever that first night around 7 PM. Next thing I knew John was excusing himself at 8:15 PM to put Hanny and Katriel to bed. THEN the next thing I knew it was 10:20 PM! For! Real! I decided that we’d have to just end the game at 11 PM, because, well, do I really NEED a because???

Tabby was the first to go out… but she played well against these vultures.

We played multiple times over the course of the second week of vacation. It was mostly fun. Mostly.
How did we manage this with our two too-young-for-Monopoly-girlies?
Well, we tried to do it during Katriel’s naptime. And Johanna would just play dolls near us.

Or… in the case of at least two evening games I know of…

Heh – thanks technology!
But don’t worry. We played LOTS of Princess-friendly games, as well, over our break.
She’s a CandyLand queen!

Christmas Adam…

December 27, 2014 | Stacy

I’m posting this out of order… but I want to remember it.

On December 23rd, my mom had the oldest five to her house for a sleep-over party to celebrate, um, Christmas ADAM. Get it? Adam comes before Eve? They had snacks and Christmas movies and a fantastic breakfast.

John and I had Katriel. JUST Katriel. It was really cool.

First, after I dropped the kids off at my mom’s house I ran through the drive-thru somewhere and grabbed her and I each some lunch.

We dined together in utmost quiet. I pulled her chair right up to mine for our own table-for-two.

I then tucked her in for a nap. She slept soundly for THREE HOURS. (Of late she’s been more of a two hour girl.) I’m guessing a silent house had a lulling effect. At first I dove into cleaning. I got a lot done in an hour. And it was SO boring. After 90 minutes I was watching the clock wondering WHEN she would get up. I decided to wrap the last few gifts and looked up some stuff online. But really – I was bored. I am not designed for child-free-ness.

FINALLY at 4 she started to make some noises. I shot upstairs to collect her.

When John got home the THREE of us (yup – that felt weird) went to the food court at the mall for dinner. I love food court Chinese and only get to eat it about twice a year. This was the night. I realized how dumb it was to buy her nuggets at lunch, b/c now what was she going to eat? She eschewed the fries and only licked the ketchup off the burger. It didn’t seem right to give her Kung Pao or General Tse chicken, either. After we poked around JCP for a few minutes we decided to head home for my $10 off coupon at JCP. Except when we got there we couldn’t find it. So we went to Wal•Mart instead. And that is where John did something I’ve never done before. He let Katriel walk in the store. You can imagine when I take kids solo into Wal•Mart that I NEED to contain the smallest ones. I’m the lady with that monster-sized cart with the big plastic fore-piece where I can buckle in Johanna and Katriel. But tonight, Katriel delighted in the opportunity to use her own two feet to navigate the store.

We headed back to the baby section where so I could find some onsies for her. (Yes, she was seeing her Christmas gift.) As I considered the merits of the different brands and sizes she and Daddy checked out one of those things where you can push the squares representing all the children’s CDs for sale. She pushed and listened and danced.

Disciples’ Construction Company

December 20, 2014 | Stacy

We’ve had different gingerbread-building experiences over the years and have always enjoyed ourselves. This year we went with the at-home-kit plan and had a blast. At $8 a kit (even with Rollback prices) I just purchased 3 sets. I gave resident cheerful-person, Marie, the first box and asked her to pick a partner. All these disciples love one another, but not everyone can work together. Marie lovingly selected the high-spirited 4-year-old, thereby creating just about the best possible building-buddy-sets I could have hoped for…

Stewart and Nigel were a team, and Tabitha and Katriel were a, um, team… (Hard to build from your high chair…)

I lent some hands to Tab, and Daddy lent some hands to Marie. (Hanny proved a rather disinterested builder. She was more into exterior design and taste-testing.)

The boys had a few glitches. (They seemingly do not have the engineer gene.)

What the boys lack in math and science they more than make up for in other areas… like creative design.
They were the first to finish their project.

Marie finished second, sweetly labeling it M & J, although J had very little input.

Tabitha managed to complete hers on her own…and as such, didn’t offer Katriel any frosting credit. 😉

Random little sister shots

December 15, 2014 | Stacy

This book was so good it followed her to the table…
I thought they didn’t do that until they were 9.

She is an Egyptian. (My kids have fascinations with Egyptians.)

And markers.
She did this two days in a row.
Oy.

She was helping me with the laundry.

Whoa is her. She is a REDCOAT. Get it? And her brother – GEORGE WASHINGTON caught her.
She plays the wounded soldier oh-so-passionately, does she not?

We found a snowsuit.
We found some mittens.
We found some boots.
We didn’t take her out long enough…
Tears immediately followed this shot.
Daddy took her back out.

Corning Museum of Glass

November 4, 2014 | Stacy

Almost a two hour drive, including a LooooooG stop for a four-year-old tummy.
Ten people, as Nan and Nene came, too.
A good deal of fun.

Adults were $16, and kids 19 and under are free.
Making glass projects were not free.
Really. Not. Free.
But how could we not?

We learned a lot today. Glass has been around since Nineveh times! Amazing stuff.
And we did a scavenger hunt in the glass history section. It was pretty beautiful, really.
But the demos were our favorite parts.

Nigel was selected from the audience to participate in glass breaking. He said it was fun.
He was given a beautiful glass swan for his participation.

We watched a glass flameworking demo. She made a beautiful fish.

We also watched a fiber optic demo. and a glass blowing demo. I don’t know how I failed to take pictures of that last one. It was fascinating. The artist blew a gorgeous bowl in about 15 minutes.
I was that lady with a 20-month old in a glass museum. When Stewart was a baby I would have been horrified my child was so “busy”. At this stage of the game I was like, “Deal with it people.” 😉

After we ate our packed lunch we headed to the I Make Glass building.

Stewart and Tabitha each made an ornament. ($29 each, plus a total cost of shipping of $18.)

I can’t wait to see them when they arrive later this week. I did not get a good look at either of them.

Marie and Nigel did flamework. Nigel made a bead. Marie made a pendant. I think they both just wanted to work with the flame. I don’t blame them.

Johanna applied stickers all over the outside of a small glass. Then a nice lady sandblasted it.

She was a little perplexed that the stickers were removed.

We left around 3:30 P.M. Johanna wanted to be like the big kids…

And we wanted Katriel to use some big muscles before the long car ride home.

We called in a pizza about half-an-hour out from home.
I remember when a sheet pizza used to last two meals!
They are growing so fast.

Flu shot field trip…

October 20, 2014 | Stacy

Some of my bloggy friends might remember when we had H1N1 in 2009. It was horrible.
H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.
That was the year that H1N1 strain was a separate immunization

I also had influenza A in 2008.
Just. So. Sick.
Praise God the kids did not have that bout. They had had their shots that year. I, somehow, kept missing the clinics at work and didn’t make it a priority.

Now… I walk over glass to get mine.

I hate all the lies that fly around about the “flu shot”.
I want to shake people who just think it is a stomach bug.
Or people who angrily contend they got the flu from the shot. (Not. Even. Possible.)

If you don’t want it, that’s fine. But don’t demonize those of us who know what it is like to hurry your asthmatic son to Urgent Care as his routine meds make no differences. Or how we remember shaking in bed with rigors and a temperature of 103.6 at 10 weeks pregnant and worry about what that fever is doing to your baby. (She’s fine, by God’s great mercy.) Or what it is like to see your 3-year-old soar past 104 and every medication in your arsenal can’t bring it down. Or watching your limp 7 year old fall languish on the sofa and have repeat visits to the pediatrician until she swabs him and confirms we are part of a pandemic.

Immunizations are not the enemy. The Enemy is the enemy. And he loves to see people bicker and argue. And for sure he likes to see them sick.

These disciples will do what they can to avoid the flu.

Even princesses endorse. 😉

Nan to the rescue…

September 17, 2014 | Stacy

I’ve never had much help in the way of homeschooling. Basically, unless John had some random day off, it has been all-mom-all-the-time for our 10 years of homeschooling. And – by the grace of God – we’ve managed. We employ schedules and stick to them. The kids do lots of chores and watch the littler ones as the older ones have rotated through their school time with Mom. This year, however, thinks aren’t quite as neat as they’ve been in the past. Katriel is a busier climber-type baby than Johanna was. The two boys have too much work to spend much time watching little sisters. Tabitha is too close in age to Johanna for Johanna to genuinely see her as an authority.

But – then came Nan!

Nan retired in April and has been volunteering at Dayspring Academy Preschool and Child Care Center. Or something like that. In the 17 days we’ve had of school so far this year, she has been over 9 or 10 mornings! And we’ve needed it. She plays cards with Hanny, plays dishes with Katriel, brings over toys from her house, and takes them outside.

To all this we say THANK YOU and PRAISE THE LORD.

Now – Nan wants/(needs) to get a part-time job one of these days. And too much time in this chaos might not be good for her health… But for as long as she is interested and able we will take her up on her generous offer! The girls are having a blast, too, I might add. 🙂