Time Change

Normally, my kids are up at the crack of dawn.  Meaning, as soon as Daddy hits the shower at 6:45, three kids wake up.  Sometimes all 4.

However, today was a different story.  Normally, on Sundays, the boys wake up around 7:30, and we make them read quietly until around 8:00.  Today, the house was slumbering like we'd been up till all hours.  I can assure you, we weren't.

8:54 a.m. - Dustin emerges.  Factor in the time change, and his body slept in just a little (he was on "7:54" time).

10:15 - Spencer wakes.  Huh?  Why so late, little buddy?

10:45 - Joshua surfaces.  Poor kid was not feeling well in the night and woke with a  raging fever.  Fair enough.  He needed some sleep.

11:20, and Meaghan was still sawing logs.  She finally popped out of bed, happy as a clam, at 11:42 a.m.  Even with the adjusted time, that would only be 10:42... SUPER late for her, by about 4 hours!!

Needless to say, with Spencer sick (he's just getting over a cold), Joshua sick, and Meaghan also recovering from a cold, we decided to skip church.  Probably the single best decision we could've made today.

Maybe we could do this again, oh, say, NEXT SATURDAY?

Seven Quick Takes

Is this supposed to be a Friday thing?  Seven Quick Takes on Friday?

Well, no matter.  It's Monday, so I'm either early or late.

1.  Spencer is a riot.  He randomly burps at the table (from his high chair), then gets this goofy shocked look on his face, then giggles.  That's my boy!!  Totally priceless.

2.  Meaghan has quite the life.  She sat on our friends' countertop in PA with Mike, and suddenly proclaimed, "This is the LIFE!"  She has repeated the same phrase with equal vigour when she has cozied into our bed under our new soft duvet, or sitting beside other friends.  She knows a good thing when she's part of it.  However, it should also be known that she has also said the same thing when passing gas while sitting on the toilet.  (Sorry, Megs...)

3.  Meaghan is the queen of kung-fu ballet.  She performs a great kick (complete with accompanying "Hi-YAH!") and then promptly twirls around and finishes with a perfect ballerina's pose.

4.  Spencer has seven teeth.  The kid is the messiest teether.  None of my other kids had flesh that broke like this.  His gummy flesh just hangs there, swollen, bleeding, and pulverized.  Poor kid.

5.  Dustin and Joshua are starting swimming lessons again tonight.  Dustin is going to be a crocodile, and Joshua is in Red Cross Level 3.

6.  I may be taking some x-country ski lessons in the Fort...?  We'll see.  One thing at a time.

7.  Today I am remembering a little guy whose life on earth was far too short.  Happy 4th birthday, Brennan.  You are a treasure.

How wonderful!

Yesterday, I went to visit a naturopathic doctor.  She was fantastic!

I'll spare you the details of our appointment - for now - but early on in the appointment, she shocked me.

She asked how many children I had.

"Oh, I have four."

"Four!  How WONDERFUL!"

That was a first.  Usually the response is something along the lines of, "Wow, you must be busy."  Or, "You have your hands full!"

Her response blessed me.  How wonderful that there are still people who appreciate "large" families (even though my family is still quite small in comparison to some).

Confessions

They say confession is good for the soul.

I am letting my daughter watch "Despicable Me" while I blog.
I haven't showered in, umm, well, far too long.  I'll spare you the details.
She is going to keep watching Despicable Me while I shower.

I am behind on laundry.
I have 5 baskets ready to fold, plus - one load in the dryer, one load in the washer, and 3 loads left to wash and dry today.
Gail often comes to help with Meaghan on Tuesdays so I can run errands or go to appointments with Spencer.
Gail likes to fold my kids' laundry.  (Normally I make my kids do it, but this being a long weekend and with Spencer sick, I didn't get their laundry processed on Monday like I normally do.)
Gail didn't come yesterday.
That's why I have laundry everywhere.

I found out yesterday at 9:15 that I had an appointment for Spencer at 9:45...yesterday.
(That's why Gail didn't come - I had to leave before she would've gotten here.)
The trip takes 29 minutes.
I had one minute to get my kids out of the house if I was going to make it in time.
I did not, in fact, make it in time; I was about 5 minutes late.
The doctor was half an hour late.  So it's all good.
However -
With one minute to get out of the house...
...remember that I hadn't showered in at least, well, yeah, I'll spare you the number of days...
...remember that I had many MANY baskets of laundry strewn all over the house...
...one of those clean loads was *not* my own clothes...
...and so I threw on clothes from the previous day....
...that had been spit up on and spilled on (but you couldn't see the stains)...
...I only had time to grab a granola bar on the way out the door for myself for breakfast...
...I only had time to rake my hair back with my fingers and put into a messy braid...
...I didn't brush my teeth (good thing I had a granola bar and gum in the car)...
...I did, however, remember deodorant...
...but I didn't wash my face or put on any makeup...
...the kids had jackets, but I didn't...
...I was frozen...
...I had neglected to bring a blanket for Spencer...
...good thing I've gotten really good at nursing in public, uncovered, without showing anything...
...and I'm glad I remembered spare diapers and wipes.  'Cuz Spencer *always* poops at the paediatrician's office.

I'm going to shower now.  Really.
And now Dustin has joined Meaghan in the Despicable Me theatre.

Thankfulness

My heart is overflowing.

Spencer's face no longer looks like it's been scrubbed raw with a wire brush.  The cream and antibiotics are doing their jobs, thankfully.  Yesterday was painful for both of us - his face, my heart.  (These were taken with my phone; not the best quality.)

I have the best friends. Ever.  I hurt when they hurt.  They hurt when I hurt.  They come over and offer to help with kids or laundry.  They let me do the same for them.  They text for hours with me when they're driving (uhh, the passenger does the texting), asking questions about tough decisions they are making.  They love my kids.  They call to see how my sad little boy is doing.  Even the ones without kids get excited about the things my kids accomplish.

I love how Spencer sucks his thumb. He's so cute I could eat him, but I won't.  (I'm not a cannibal.)  I love how he smiles at his siblings.  I love how he has eyes only for Mama sometimes.  I love how he nuzzles me.  I would die for this little boy...and for my other two-legged treasures, too.

I love how Dustin said yesterday morning, "I don't want to go to school; I don't really like it," but then comes off the bus chattering non-stop about how much he loved it and about all the cool stuff he did.  I struggle with sending my kids to school vs. homeschooling... daily, I struggle... but I have not yet been released to homeschool.  I may never get to that day.  However, that my kids are learning and thriving under the care and guidance of some wonderful teachers - that they come home excited and brimming with new information - eases my heart.

I love how Meaghan is just a honey. Pure and simple sweetness.  We started potty-training her before Spencer arrived; probably around her 22-month mark is when we started.  Maybe sooner.  I have pictures of her sitting on the potty at a younger age.  At any rate, we got her about 80% of the way there, and then Spencer arrived... and all bets were off.  I decided casually the other week that it was time to try again.  And... then one morning about a week ago, she woke up dry after 11+ hours of sleep.  A fluke, I thought.  But then she stayed dry all day, save for two little dribbles.  Then again that night.  And the next day.  Repeat, but with completely dry days and a full week's worth of dry nights.  Could it be?  Is my 28-month old really potty trained?  (Man, that was a lot easier than with the boys...)  She loves her stickers, she loves her undies, she lights up with the biggest smiles ever.  She is awesome.

I love Joshua's tender heart.  He is beyond insightful; what a gift.  The other day was Murray's birthday.  Murray was our best man in our wedding and one of Graeme's best friends; he was paralyzed in a car accident 12 years ago and died last December from complications after a surgery.  His birthday would've been September 15th.  The family was going to go to the grave site, bring cake, sit around, read Scripture, share memories, eat cake, laugh and cry.  They invited us along.  Murray's two little nieces were there also, so my kids were in good company.  At any rate, Joshua asked if he could read a portion of the Scripture that Murray's parents had picked out... he did a stellar job (my grade 2 kid reads at around a grade 4 or 5 level)... Murray's mom said, "Murray would've been proud."... that night, Joshua asked question upon question:  "Why did God choose Uncle Murray?" - "Why did Uncle Murray have to suffer?" - and others - the whole while, sobbing.

I love how Graeme takes care of the three big kids so I can spend some quiet time with Spencer.  I love how he takes care of me.  He is a gift to me and to my children.  I have it pretty good.  Our marriage is not perfect.  We struggle.  We don't see eye to eye on everything.  But I still have it pretty good.

Life is hard, but it's worth it.  God has been gracious to me.

Road Trip to SK

I decided it would be a good idea to road-trip it with four kids to visit Karen in south-western Saskatchewan last week. Thankfully, I stopped in Camrose to pick up Karen's daughter Melissa.  There's no way I would've been able to manage all 4 kids alone on the travelling days!!  Between poopy blowouts, potty breaks, snack breaks, and mosquitoes, I definitely needed the extra hands!

Pretty girl...

Tucker, Karen's dog... oh wait, maybe it's Joshua's dog now?  Play fetch with Joshua.

Hanging out...

We took a trip to the train station; Peter took the boys (and me!) on an engine ride to a grain terminal 3 miles away.  The engine had to go really slow thanks to track conditions, but the boys thought it was pretty fun anyway!

After a long and hot day...

Little buddies - no, they didn't sleep like this!  I did, however, manage to have all 3 big kids sleeping in the same room for 4 nights in a row!  Took some engineering, but we did it!

Oh, Dustin...

We took a trip to the Great Sand Hills... this is sort of at the bottom of the big hill, I think...

This gives you a bit of an idea of how big the hill was...

At the top - me and my munchkins!

Rolling down the sand hills...

Running down the sand hills... if you look really closely, you can see Dustin's legs in the air, just to the left of Joshua... Dustin was going so fast he tripped!

All in all, a good week.  I could've done without the trauma of nearly running out of gas on our way out to the sandhills the first day (and having to turn back without my leading party knowing I was turning around)...  I could've done without it being so hot we were stuck inside most of the trip... but...

The cookies were awesome...

The Spencer-snuggles were awesome...

Joshua playing fetch with Tucker was pretty awesome...

The train ride was awesome...

The boys playing tetherball at the park in town was awesome...

The coloring, movie-watching, and game-playing were awesome...

The naps were awesome...

The kids did awesome...

It was a good trip.  

Till next time...

He is...

...perfection...

...BIG!... *this was taken before the weight was finalized on the scale, so it's not accurate in this picture*

*this is the official weight*

...loved...

...examined...

...surrounded with chaos...

...and surrounded by love...

...well looked after...

...fawned over...

...already cherished...

...part of a bigger picture...

...adored by friends...

...our little Spencer!!

...in his "staying home from the hospital" outfit...

...adored by his big sister...

...a treasure to all of us...

Born May 9, 2011 @ 2:03 a.m.

Weighing 9 lbs and 3/8 of an ounce (but we'll just call it 9 lbs)

Measuring 22.5" long

Welcome to our world,  Baby Spencer Daniel!!  

4/11

The days have been sweet.


I have helped out twice at Joshua's school this week.  Today I took Dustin with me, and it was such a precious time.  He fit in there like a perfect (smaller) piece of a grade one puzzle, sitting at Joshua's desk with him.  Joshua was the *best* big brother in those moments, guiding Dustin, holding his hand, teaching him.  It was perfect.  Dustin even got to go out for lunchtime recess with Joshua, and he was in there like a dirty shirt!!


Meaghan's language has been sky-rocketing.  Today, Graeme went in to work a bit later as he is going to work a Trade Fair tonight and won't be home until after all the littles are in bed.  As he headed out the door, she said excitedly, "Bye!  Have fun, Daddy!"  Her sentences and thoughts are becoming more complete.  I can usually piece together what she's trying to tell me when she only uses a couple of words to communicate, but recently she has been using actual sentences.  Such a joy and a treat!!  I have to admit, though, that I'm going to miss the days when I am her only interpreter; the only one who can know exactly what she is saying.  She has been *such* a happy kid lately!


This new sweet baby has really slowed down his/her movements, but all is well.  S/he is running out of room!  We had another appointment yesterday, and this baby is a *definite* posterior baby!  I know for certain that Joshua and Meaghan both were, and Dustin's labour pattern very much fit the same as the other two, so I'm assuming he was as well.  Nobody's head engaged until I was in labour for several hours, too, so again, I'm thinking that Dustin was also OP for that reason...  The difference here is that this time I *know* ahead of time and can try to do something about it (positioning, etc)... and if the baby's position doesn't change, then I will also be better prepared and not discouraged in the event of another long labour.  I didn't know with any of the others until afterwards (J&D), and until my water broke with Meaghan and the nurse checked me (and that was only 20 mins before she was born).


Only a few more days!  

Recent days

My CPR course last weekend was nothing short of information overload, but I loved it.  I gotta admit, though, that I got a little too emotional when I saw the video demonstration of the choking baby... and the one of the suffocating baby... my goodness.  Talk about embarrassing.  :)

I scored 98% on my exam, but *everyone* in the class got the same question wrong - even the instructor admitted it was a poorly worded question and that the answer we'd all put would indeed also be correct.

I was exhausted by the end of the weekend.  I'd done more chest compressions than I can even bear to guesstimate, and I learned how to bandage and sling all kinds of injuries.  Really, really neat information.  While I pray I can retain it all, I also pray fervently that I will never have to use my newfound knowledge.

It was my birthday last Sunday.  So, after I got home from my course, we ordered in Chinese food.  Graeme had made a birthday cake, so we put a few candles on it and we let Meaghan try to blow them out.  So stinkin' cute.

It was the most low-key birthday ever, but I was OK with that.  I think Graeme and I may have watched a part of a movie that night, but I was so exhausted that we didn't finish it.  I can't even remember what the movie was, but I remember that it was good.  How pathetic am I?

My kidlets are sick again.  Started out with Dustin a week or so again...no, wait.  I think it started with Meaghan, followed closely by Dustin.  Dustin is also somewhat asthmatic, but when he gets a cold that goes into his chest, he becomes a croupy frantic mess in the middle of the night.  Not helpful with the asthma.  I spent about 1 1/2 hours up with him in the night one night.  I love snuggling my "babies", even in the night, as I know that my time for snuggling them may not last forever.  I tried sleeping upright on the sofa with Dustin, to relieve his airway a bit, but between him being too wired from his rescue inhaler meds (increased heart rate) and me not having much room on the sofa, we kind of kept giggling and then gave up on that process.   He still has a wet cough and sniffles, but is not acute like he was a couple of days ago.

(Dustin, playing a game on my phone, in one of his favorite "I wanna be alone spots" - in an overturned laundry basket in the middle of the floor!)

Meaghan had basically *almost* gotten over her cold - not a major one, but enough to wake her in the night a few times over the previous nights.  Then, she spent a day or two with just a touch of a runny nose, and then yesterday she started worsening again... the wet cough returned suddenly.... and then after her nap today, she woke up completely on fire.  Poor hunny.  I was out tonight for a couple of hours at a church function, and when I got home, she woke up and started mewling pathetically; she is dressed in nothing more than light "summer" jammies (shorts & t-shirt with froggies on them; belonged to the boys), and she was not under her blanket at all, but she was so fevered that even her little naked toes were hot.  Poor hunny.  I spent a good while enjoying a snuggle with her also.  (Meaghan seems to have this repeated pattern... sick, mostly healthy, then succumbs again, worse than the first time... usually requiring her to be on antibiotics, which often do their job within the first 36 hours... we shall see if she needs to be on something again or not... I hope not!)

Last night Joshua also decided to get sick - well, he didn't *decide*, but you know how it goes.  He was fussing at suppertime about a sore throat.  Graeme's parents were watching the kids for a couple of hours at our house, and teased Joshua about having "supper disease", as Joshua often seems to try and manipulate his way out of eating his dinner (but still getting dessert) whenever Gramma & Grampa are in charge.  At any rate, about an hour after I got home, it became abundantly clear to me that Joshua was definitely *not* faking anything; came down with a fast and high fever, chills, etc...

Yes - at just over 6 1/2 years old, he is reading Hardy Boys books, cover to cover... if Joshua goes missing, we will always find him with a big old chapter book in his hands... though this picture was taken several days ago,  this is also how he spent much of his day today.

Graeme was sick last weekend - started on my birthday, and he's still not really over it yet.

"I am the only one who has escaped...."

For now.  Maybe God will be merciful and prevent me from getting this messy illness... I tell you, the amount of direct-to-my-face coughing that Meaghan has launched ought to be enough to send me to quarantine.  I *am* thankful that I've been kept from this.  I am leading worship tomorrow, and as long as I make it through that, I'll be happy...

'Cept tomorrow (Sunday) is also our 12th anniversary, and we have reservations at a sorta-fancy restaurant... but if the kids are sick there's no way we're going to ask someone to look after them like that.  Or if I'm sick, there's no way I'm going to spend money on restaurant food that I won't even be able to taste.

God knows.

In all of this, He sees, and He knows.  Somehow, He has given me a greater degree of patience in this past year for my sickies.  He has been merciful to grant me health while I tend my little flock.  And if I do get sick afterwards, my littles have been gracious and understanding and mostly compliant.  I am blessed.