Having a Field Day

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn's school held their annual field day. They competed against two other schools. Let's just say running is not Brooklyn's forte. As I helped run the boys' long jump I watched my dear daughter in action. She was entered into the broad jump, the 400, and the 50 yd dash. The start sounded and the group of girls took off to run the 400. My daughter is the SLOWEST runner ever! She jogged the first 200 and finally caught up with a girl that was walking. Instead of passing her, she slowed up(if that's possible) put her arm around the girl, and encouraged her to keep going. She then moved to the outermost lane to encourage another girl. She zig-zagged her way around the track encouraging each walker until the final turn. As all the kids cheered(they were instructed to cheer for everyone) she turned toward the "fans" and waved the entire rest of the race. Yeesh.

Note: two weeks later she came home from school announcing that she'd run TWO miles that day. Her gym teacher informed her no other first grader has ever attempted such a feat, but she and three of her classmates completed the task. Obviously, endurance is not the issue with this girl. Why is she so dang slow?

The 50 yard dash was more of the same. Most of the girls in her group had finished the race, had a snack, and were boarding the bus by the time she finished the race.

I finished the day with the parents' relay(which was fun!) and an almost blistering sunburn(not so fun.) Note to self: When sunscreening three children, sunscreen yourself too!




I don't know what's up with the microscopic pictures. Sorry about that!

Anyone?

Missing: One Nikon D60 battery charger.
My battery lost its charge and I have no way of recharging until the charger is found. Translation: no more photographs until the battery is recharged. I feel like a piece of me is missing without my camera in hand. Has anyone seen my 1 1/2"x2" dark gray wonderbox? Anyone?

Not Me!

Inspired by My Charming Kids blog, I decided to write my own "Not Me!" entry.

I so did not come home from an errand to find my toddler fast asleep in his carseat. I would never open his side of the van and just leave him there, in the driveway, alone. I didn't go in the house, put away the groceries, return a phone call, clean up the breakfast dishes, check my email, facebook, blogs, etc. I most definitely didn't put my four year old in charge of making sure he was safe while I completed numerous tasks inside the house. I didn't return to find the preschooler had unbuckled the toddler's seat belt, "just in case he woke up," because that is definitely keeping him safe. Because it is neglectful and unsafe, I will never do this again. Not me!

What a Wild Weekend!

After being completely and totally exhausted from the competition, I crashed on the couch before 9:00pm on Saturday. I had yet to plan for the events to come on Sunday. Why do I do this to myself?
I got up around 7:00, much to the disappointment of my children(they wanted to bring me breakfast in bed) and got to work. Andy and I managed to get the children and ourselves ready, plan a meal, go shopping, clean up the house, actually enjoy breakfast together, and get to church by 10:20 all with little or no stress. Amazing!

We had Isaac dedicated at church this morning, only seven short months after the first attempt. We were scheduled to dedicate him in October, only to have him get the pukes. When we tried to reschedule, we were told the next one landed on Mothers' Day. Yikes!
This morning went off without a hitch. Isaac slept through everything! We promised to raise Isaac in the church and teach him the Gospel in hopes that one day he will accept this as truth for himself. The pastor prayed Psalm 25: 4-5 over him.

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long."

After church, my parents, Andy's parents, and Andy's brother headed to our house for lunch and plenty of photo ops. Although a bit chilly, it was a gorgeous day!

Enough, already!

I'm sure all my loyal followers are bored to tears with Brooklyn's dance adventures, but I will never tire of watching her on stage. I'm sorry to say that we still have a recital and a competition in Myrtle Beach ahead of us!

A couple of weeks ago her dance studio held their annual picture week. Finally, I have photos that don't include the giant fuchsia water lilly(although, I absolutely love it!) on her head. Her musical theater class is dancing to "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie. It's the cutest thing ever! Her competition group is doing a tap dance in the recital to Sweetie Pie Kids(I'd never heard of it either, but I adore the costume!)






Lastly, Brooklyn's team had their final local dance competition on Saturday. We had to be up before 5:00am to be fully dressed and at the Columbus Convention Center by 6:15am. They were on stage by 7:30. Ugh! Her team received a High Gold ranking, a special judges award for "cute concept" and one of four costume awards for the day. Brooklyn was devastated that they didn't place in the top five. She was sure that it was all her fault and she needed to practice more. I tried to explain that this was a much tougher competition with many, many more dance teams, but she is a perfectionist in the making. What am I going to do with that girl?

Go Twins!

Xavier's first t-ball game was Saturday. The game has two innings in which both teams bat through their lineup. They get three coach pitches. If they don't connect with the ball they get three swings off the tee. Xavier's team took the field first. He was positioned just in front of the outfield behind the shortstop. Nothing came his way and the top of the inning was over. He was near the bottom of the order but it was worth the wait! He connected on the first pitch and headed for first base. Safe! He was so happy to cross home plate. Back onto the field. The coach rearranged the players but Xavier ended up in the same position. I turned to Andy and asked, "Is he really that bad?" Unfortunately Andy confirmed that he can't catch and gets nervous when he throws. I see some time in the backyard in our future! He was able to field and throw one ball without any major embarrassment during the rest of the game. He had to hit off the tee at his next at-bat. But, he still made it on base! Considering this is very new to him, he didn't do too badly!

Golden Girls

Brooklyn's dance team had their second competition this past weekend. This was the qualifier for nationals in Myrtle Beach this summer. The team had to receive a Gold ranking in order to qualify. We were all a bit concerned we were going to lose the deposit on the hotel we'd already booked for June. Five of the nine girls put in a 2 hour practice(complete with lots of playtime) on Saturday. Boy, did it pay off! The girls received "Top First Place" which is the highest ranking, first place(highest point value) in their age division(5-6 years) and fourth place out of all acts ages 8 and under. This was huge! We were so excited for them! Brooklyn is so proud of her first trophy. Way to go Huma Girls!

Incredible Hulk

It's kind of funny that Xavier's new soccer team's "mascot" describes him as a player. He IS the Incredible Hulk! He towers over most of his teammates and his playing really has become incredible! He's learned how to dribble, turn the ball, and turn on his speed when necessary. I'm most amazed at his defensive skills. He tracks down his opponents using routes no one can teach. I just need to talk to him about staying to the inside of a player while defending. Really, I'm going to explain that to a four year old? We'll see...

Reality Check

I am a self proclaimed blog stalker. I love reading blogs, especially those of people I don't know going through awful things with their children(I know, I need help.) The two random strangers I have bookmarked are especially intriguing to me. One woman lost a child at birth, the other's child has a very serious heart condition. They write the most amazing posts! What I find most interesting is their seemingly unshakable faith during the most trying times. They write about it so eloquently! I, on the other hand, am a faith clod. I am terrified to share my opinions and faith because...
1. I don't want to seem like one of "those people."
2. I don't want to offend anyone
3. There are days when I feel very shakable
The truth is, I AM one of "those people." My faith governs all that I do and every decision I make. I'm just afraid to admit it to everyone, including myself. I have this crazy idea that if I pretend I'm clueless, God won't give me hard things to handle. Well, I had my reality check last night.
Most of you know my 15 month old has major food allergies. His list is so long, even his allergist is shaking his head. Thankfully, although his allergies are many, thus far, they have been an inconvenience. I feel badly that he itches all the time. I'm sad that he can't enjoy the foods I love. But, it was annoying at most.
As I ran out the door to a meeting last night, Andy was cooking dinner for the kids. We briefly discussed giving Isaac the supper we were having. We decided that he'd been tested for fish, it was negative, and he could have the entree, sans seasoning. Ten minutes into my meeting I received a call from Andy. He was panicked and crying that Isaac had broken out in hives and his face was swelling in the five minutes since he'd eaten the fish. Should he use the epi-pen? I felt so helpless. I had no clue what to do! I told him to grab Isaac and go find a neighbor. Have the neighbor drive, he was sit in the back with Isaac, and at any sign of breathing difficulty, give him the epi-pen. I was afraid an ambulance would take too long. I told Andy I'd meet him at the hospital. I hung up the phone and bolted out the door. Meanwhile, Andy was heading to the neighbor's to get some help. They weren't home. He later described walking up the street, carrying Isaac in just his onesie, pleading for someone to help him. For anyone who knows my strong, confident husband, this is heartbreaking. He finally found a neighbor to help. Thanks to John and Shelley for coming to Andy's rescue! Once inside the hospital, they gave him a dose of Benedryl, a dose of Prednisone, and a shot of Epinephrine. Although acting like he was hopped up on massive amounts of caffeine and Fun-Dip, he came through the episode unscathed.
My reality is, I have a child with a life-threatening condition. Certain foods could kill him. I was always sure this wouldn't happen to me. God only gives you the trials you can handle, right? I'm trying to convince Him I can't handle it. Unfortunately, He knows me better than I know myself. He thinks I can do this. I am putting my trust in Him, no matter the outcome.
Thank you to my friends who came to my rescue through prayer, watching my kids, and talking me through this horrible experience. I am so thankful for you!

Eat your heart out, Octo-mom! My lips are bigger than yours!

Worm Farm

I guess this is an appropriate post for Earth Day...

We've decided to try our hand at vermicomposting. Andy built a 1'x2'x3' box in the backyard. We shredded pounds of newspaper(we needed 17 pounds, but we're not quite there.) Xavier watered the newspaper. Then, we poured in the worms(a.k.a. red wrigglers from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm.) A pound of worms is supposed to eat a pound of garbage per day. After 3 or 4 months, we will have compost to use in our garden. The worms are supposed to be non-smelly(only if we don't compost meat)and self-sustaining. We'll see how it goes. The kids are super excited! Happy gardening!



There's supposed to be 2000 worms in this bag. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it!


Oh no, it's the dreaded shredded newpaper monster! But wait...look closely...he comes in peace!

The Upside of Rain

Recently, we've seen just a glimpse of warm, sunny, weather, only to have it rain the next day. I'm so tired of gloomy days! The kids just want to be outside! Monday night, it was raining, again. As I watched out the window, it rained, then hailed, then out came the sun! I immediately ran for the front door to look for the rainbow. It started slowly. Then, I noticed there were two! The entire sky was covered with a double rainbow! It was absolutely beautiful!

Easter, Easter, and More Easter

I'm trying to put all the Easter happenings into one post. We'll see how it goes...

My children left on Wednesday evening to spend some unsupervised time with their Oma and Opa. Andy spent all his time working on the bathroom(no, it isn't even close to being finished.) and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. No dates, no fun, just work. It was wonderful to get something accomplished without my helpers undoing everything in a matter of moments.

Saturday evening, Andy and I joined his family in Dayton. As we sat around the supper table, I made the horrific discovery that I'd left Brooklyn's Easter dress, complete with matching doll outfit, on her bed, an hour and a half away. Fifteen minutes later, five of us were loaded into the car to head to the nearest department store to find a replacement. The first two stores were a bust. Of course, the night before Easter, everything was picked over! At the last stop, fifteen minutes before the store closed, we hit the jackpot! We narrowed the dress choices from 15 to 4, then chose the winner. Despite all the chaos, I'm really happy with the dress we found! I'm also thankful I didn't make the dreaded discovery on Sunday morning!






Easter was beautiful! I took way too many pictures, but the brilliant sunlight caused me some problems. Once again, those photography lessons might have come in handy. Someday, in my spare time...




We enjoyed a beautiful walk in the woods, a delicious meal, and a super fun egg hunt. The day couldn't have been any better!

Does He Look Tired?

I am extremely frustrated with my oh-so-sweet fourteen month old. He won't nap! I know our schedule is extremely chaotic, but seriously, why can't he sleep? Three days a week he falls asleep on the way home from the wellness center. I try desperately to wake him up, to no avail. I then give up and put him in his crib. Immediate panic strikes and he is up for the rest of the day. Total nap: 20 minutes.
Other days, I try to put him down, fed, around lunch time. He either cries for ten minutes, then sleeps for forty-five, or cries until he makes himself sick. If I pick him up, he falls asleep on my shoulder. He'll sleep there, happily, but if I try to put him in his crib, it starts all over again. I don't have time for this! It is my only chance for a shower, unload the dishwasher, pick up the house, and/or what am I supposed to do with Xavier while Isaac drools on my shoulder? He goes to sleep at night without a problem and sleeps about 10 hours. I'm pretty sure he needs more sleep, but how to you force it?

Digging in the Dirt

Isaac is loving being outside in the spring weather. He's been watching us attempt to whip our sad yard into shape. Neither Andy, nor I are much of the landscaper type. While we were outside a few days ago, he stole some of his siblings' garden utensils and dove into a pot full of dirt. Every time he'd come up with a scoopfull, he'd get all excited and wave the shovels around. Almost every time, the dirt would land on his head!