Luke has a personality that is perfect for Cub Scouts...he has really taken a shine to being a Tiger Scout. Last week, he was kind of upset with me that I had not bought him his uniform yet. Honestly, I've been putting it off because it is kind of expensive and I didn't really know how much of it is mandatory vs. "flair". The shirt itself is $22.99 - but, the "intention" is for you to buy it big enough for your Cub to wear until 4th grade...when there is a Khaki shirt instead of the navy blue shirt. Luke is a bit particular about the fit of his clothes, so I knew he wasn't going to be to keen on the shirt being a bit big. There is a neckerchief and a "slide" to buy and the neckerchief and slide are different for a Tiger than they are for a Wolf (and a Bear), so that is a purchase we get to make every year. It isn't that I'm bitter about it - it is just that every day it seems like there is SOMEthing that costs money or has to be returned by some short deadline, etc. These kids and "their" responsibilities have taken over our lives!
We did go buy what we could buy and Luke now has his shirt, belt, slide and cap. They are getting a new shipment in this week, so we can get the neckerchief and the patches he needs. The absence of the neckerchief has not slowed down Luke...he has his shirt on with his tie from his school dress uniform...then the Tiger Cub slide covering the knot of his tie. He has been wearing this outfit around the house all weekend long. Once we get the missing items, I get to sew these patches on his uniform...and at the rate he is plowing through the Tiger Cub Handbook, I'll be sewing patches on all the time. I sat down with him yesterday and read through the handbook with him so that he knows what he's working toward and how he'll get there. This is like giving him a to-do list and he wants to get it ALL done this weekend! He has done what he needs to do to earn the Tiger Cub Immediate Recognition Award (know the motto, know the sign, and know the salute) and he is practically through the "Bobcat Trail"...to earn his Bobcat Badge. He knows the promise, the handshake, and the meaning of Webelos, but he needs to work on understanding the Law of the Pack and "The Bobcat Requirement" - which is going through "what if..." scenarios about his safety and protecting his privacy. Luke is about to get slowed down though - to earn the Tiger Cub Badge, he has to wait for some activities to be done with his pack and his den. He is a bit miffed with me because I won't sign his book the first time he demonstrates proficiency, I make him tell me again later in the day or after sleeping to ensure that he knows it.
Meanwhile, Paul and I have been having a wonderful time together. He is soooo much more pleasant without Luke around all day. Paul is much less frustrated and is much more compliant without the tears. He tells me he loves me all the time and I think he is enjoying our time together. He is genuinely very funny and creative. I get a kick out of the things he says and the way he sees things. There has not been one day that I have second-guessed my decision to leave my "big job". Even when I'm thinking about how expensive the Cub Scout uniform is!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Normal Routine?
I think we just might be at the tail end of the week in which our "normal routine" emerged...normal for this semester anyway.
This past weekend, we celebrated Ruth's birthday with a family party and I think I can safely say that I have heard of no illness following this gathering at our house. Whew. I was actually a little worried! Saturday was a big fun day with lots of playing for the children and no nap for the boys. They did fine, but were ready for sleeping when bedtime finally came.
This week, everyone has been to school everyday and Luke is finished with all of the make-up work he had to do for the 3 days he missed last week. That took a while. It isn't that Luke has homework (or much homework anyway), but he was having to make-up all the work they did AT school while he was out. This was tedious and he didn't care for it too much. I will report that he seems to have made a huge leap in his reading abilities, so this is a relief. He (We) had his first Tiger Den meeting on Tuesday and he seems to be excited, so that is good. To paint a picture - it is a room of 9 six-year-old boys. You can imagine, I'm sure.
Paul is almost 3 school days into the rainbow unit with his class. He wore Red on Monday and Orange on Wednesday. As you might guess, he will wear Yellow tomorrow. He seems to be enjoying school and we have had a few play dates at the park on Thursdays with some of his classmates. He is enjoying going to Religious Education on Wednesday evenings...see how he starts everything a year earlier than Luke did?! That is the way of the younger sibling, I suppose.
Ruth is just keeping busy at home and along for the ride as we cart her brothers to and fro!
This past weekend, we celebrated Ruth's birthday with a family party and I think I can safely say that I have heard of no illness following this gathering at our house. Whew. I was actually a little worried! Saturday was a big fun day with lots of playing for the children and no nap for the boys. They did fine, but were ready for sleeping when bedtime finally came.
This week, everyone has been to school everyday and Luke is finished with all of the make-up work he had to do for the 3 days he missed last week. That took a while. It isn't that Luke has homework (or much homework anyway), but he was having to make-up all the work they did AT school while he was out. This was tedious and he didn't care for it too much. I will report that he seems to have made a huge leap in his reading abilities, so this is a relief. He (We) had his first Tiger Den meeting on Tuesday and he seems to be excited, so that is good. To paint a picture - it is a room of 9 six-year-old boys. You can imagine, I'm sure.
Paul is almost 3 school days into the rainbow unit with his class. He wore Red on Monday and Orange on Wednesday. As you might guess, he will wear Yellow tomorrow. He seems to be enjoying school and we have had a few play dates at the park on Thursdays with some of his classmates. He is enjoying going to Religious Education on Wednesday evenings...see how he starts everything a year earlier than Luke did?! That is the way of the younger sibling, I suppose.
Ruth is just keeping busy at home and along for the ride as we cart her brothers to and fro!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Happy Birthday Ruth!
I seriously cannot believe it has been a year since Ruth was born. This past year just flew by so quickly. Some parts seemed slow - like Summer, but I can remember being in the hospital with Ruth like it was yesterday.
We celebrated this morning because our Wednesday schedule doesn't have everyone back together until 6:30 pm and that is a little late for Ruth...she is thinking about going to bed by that time. We sang Happy Birthday to Ruth with 1 lone candle lit on the perfectly-released bundt cake. Then we all had a piece (Ruth seemed to like it..she gobbled it up quickly) while Luke and Paul took turns wrapping toys up in her blanket and giving her birthday presents.
As a bit of record keeping - Ruth walks everywhere...and she's been walking for about 6-8 weeks now. She eats finger foods and still nurses 3-4 times in a 24 hour period. Her words are Momma, Dadda, and Hi. She waves her hands and nods and shakes her head. She is a busy girl...always into something. If she gets something that she knows she's not supposed to have...like the TV remote...she'll take off "running away" until she runs out of places to go and then she'll turn around and hand it to you. It is as if she knows the jig up. Ruth is not the best night-time sleeper we've every had and I'd say there are 3 of the 7 nights in a week that she needs attention from one of us sometime in the night. I guess I've gotten to the point where 4-6 hours of sleep in a row seems like a good night so far as MY sleeping is concerned!
In other news, Luke is home one more day as the doctor confirmed my suspicion...strep throat. We filled the antibiotic prescription and Luke is almost 24 hours into taking it. Tomorrow he can return to school and come home, yet again, with make-up work to complete over the weekend. Poor kid...he's had a rough couple of weeks. Oh and he came back from his visit to the farm with...poison ivy rash.
Paul seems to be fine! He is at school this morning...I sent him with a container full of cubes of Ruth's birthday cake...there is no way we will finish an entire bundt cake, so this is a good way to help get it all eaten.
We celebrated this morning because our Wednesday schedule doesn't have everyone back together until 6:30 pm and that is a little late for Ruth...she is thinking about going to bed by that time. We sang Happy Birthday to Ruth with 1 lone candle lit on the perfectly-released bundt cake. Then we all had a piece (Ruth seemed to like it..she gobbled it up quickly) while Luke and Paul took turns wrapping toys up in her blanket and giving her birthday presents.
As a bit of record keeping - Ruth walks everywhere...and she's been walking for about 6-8 weeks now. She eats finger foods and still nurses 3-4 times in a 24 hour period. Her words are Momma, Dadda, and Hi. She waves her hands and nods and shakes her head. She is a busy girl...always into something. If she gets something that she knows she's not supposed to have...like the TV remote...she'll take off "running away" until she runs out of places to go and then she'll turn around and hand it to you. It is as if she knows the jig up. Ruth is not the best night-time sleeper we've every had and I'd say there are 3 of the 7 nights in a week that she needs attention from one of us sometime in the night. I guess I've gotten to the point where 4-6 hours of sleep in a row seems like a good night so far as MY sleeping is concerned!
In other news, Luke is home one more day as the doctor confirmed my suspicion...strep throat. We filled the antibiotic prescription and Luke is almost 24 hours into taking it. Tomorrow he can return to school and come home, yet again, with make-up work to complete over the weekend. Poor kid...he's had a rough couple of weeks. Oh and he came back from his visit to the farm with...poison ivy rash.
Paul seems to be fine! He is at school this morning...I sent him with a container full of cubes of Ruth's birthday cake...there is no way we will finish an entire bundt cake, so this is a good way to help get it all eaten.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The Word of the Day is: Illness
Saturday, September 3, 2011 - seemed like such a nice day. We had the Js over for a swim and cookout. There was much fun and happiness and all appeared to have a nice time. I was proud of myself for dividing the menu and assigning various items to various people. All came through with super-good items. The next day was nice as well. We went to church and got various things done around the house. Then, at 7:30ish - Paul threw up. At dinner, he hadn't eaten much and he said his tummy hurt, but I didn't pay much attention. I even thought his throwing up was a one time fluke...
Until he threw up again and again and again. And then, around 11:00 - Luke started throwing up. And then, around 12:30 - Ruth started throwing up. Sunday night was horrible. Richard and I were up with sick children ALL.NIGHT.LONG. They boys were made to sleep on their bedroom floor with individual buckets next to their heads. I help Ruth in the rocking chair (with towels draped everywhere over everything) and caught her vomit in a towel every 90 minutes or so. Thankfully, she was very docile in between. Richard ran the washing machine all night long as every sheet and towel we own was put into play.
Come Monday morning, the children were finished throwing up, but the other end was a problem. Oh, and the boys had low-grade fever...they lounged around all day. Richard and I felt grossed out by the entire house and did a major scrub down which included renting a carpet steamer. Then, at 9:00 that night - Richard and I had our turns. I threw up every hour from 9:00 - 4:00 and Richard has less of a problem. Thank the Lord we weren't ALL sick at the same time...I don't know what we would have done.
It seems that 11 of the 15 of us had some manifestation of this super-bug. We have done much noodling on the cause. We have concluded that we don't think it was food poisoning, BUT that the virus did get ON the food or in the pool and that is how it spread to so many people. The food seems more likely than the pool. I think it was Norovirus, but I don't really know. At any rate, I CLEANED out the fridge - scrubbed down and threw away all food (including condiments) from that night. The house has been scrubbed and the pool has been cleaned and the chemicals are still in balance.
Luke missed 2 days of school and had some make-up work to do. Richard missed 3 days of work. I had to give one of my classes a walk...I just couldn't teach 3 hours after finishing vomiting! It was several days of tender tummies, but we all seemed to be back to normal over the weekend.
Then...Sunday night, Luke came into our room and was burning up. He is on day 2 of fever and sore throat. We are going to the dr. this afternoon...over 2 days of solid fever and sore throat is suspicious. I actually hope it is strep because antibiotics will kick it. He is now on day 2 of missing school THIS week. The teaching is going to think he is a sicky, but - the truth is that he has been our least sick child! Poor kid though...he's had a tough couple of weeks!
Now, I need to make "The 1st Birthday Bundt Cake" for our little Ruthie as tomorrow is her 1st Birthday - can you believe THAT? I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by!
Until he threw up again and again and again. And then, around 11:00 - Luke started throwing up. And then, around 12:30 - Ruth started throwing up. Sunday night was horrible. Richard and I were up with sick children ALL.NIGHT.LONG. They boys were made to sleep on their bedroom floor with individual buckets next to their heads. I help Ruth in the rocking chair (with towels draped everywhere over everything) and caught her vomit in a towel every 90 minutes or so. Thankfully, she was very docile in between. Richard ran the washing machine all night long as every sheet and towel we own was put into play.
Come Monday morning, the children were finished throwing up, but the other end was a problem. Oh, and the boys had low-grade fever...they lounged around all day. Richard and I felt grossed out by the entire house and did a major scrub down which included renting a carpet steamer. Then, at 9:00 that night - Richard and I had our turns. I threw up every hour from 9:00 - 4:00 and Richard has less of a problem. Thank the Lord we weren't ALL sick at the same time...I don't know what we would have done.
It seems that 11 of the 15 of us had some manifestation of this super-bug. We have done much noodling on the cause. We have concluded that we don't think it was food poisoning, BUT that the virus did get ON the food or in the pool and that is how it spread to so many people. The food seems more likely than the pool. I think it was Norovirus, but I don't really know. At any rate, I CLEANED out the fridge - scrubbed down and threw away all food (including condiments) from that night. The house has been scrubbed and the pool has been cleaned and the chemicals are still in balance.
Luke missed 2 days of school and had some make-up work to do. Richard missed 3 days of work. I had to give one of my classes a walk...I just couldn't teach 3 hours after finishing vomiting! It was several days of tender tummies, but we all seemed to be back to normal over the weekend.
Then...Sunday night, Luke came into our room and was burning up. He is on day 2 of fever and sore throat. We are going to the dr. this afternoon...over 2 days of solid fever and sore throat is suspicious. I actually hope it is strep because antibiotics will kick it. He is now on day 2 of missing school THIS week. The teaching is going to think he is a sicky, but - the truth is that he has been our least sick child! Poor kid though...he's had a tough couple of weeks!
Now, I need to make "The 1st Birthday Bundt Cake" for our little Ruthie as tomorrow is her 1st Birthday - can you believe THAT? I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by!
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