Easter

Our Easter traditions (I know some people object to the term "Easter" and prefer to use "Resurrection" or some other term, but I use it as it is commonly understood in our culture):

• Thursday Evening - our church has a Maundy Thursday service which includes communion. Hopefully we make it!
• Friday - we paint Easter eggs. Traditionally, one of the eggs has 3 crosses on one side and an empty tomb on the other side.
• Sunday - Our church has an Easter Program in the morning. We plan to spend time with family during the day. If the weather is nice the kids enjoy finding Easter Eggs and hiding them for the adults.
• Other: I like to read the book "He chose the Nails" by Max Lucado between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. I have a set of "Resurrection Eggs" which we play with. Each of these eggs have a small item inside representing a part of the events of the crucifixion & resurrection. I have a few CDs of "Easter Music" that I like to listen to also.

Another day

and I really should get to bed. Matt was up several times last night. There are also dishes to unload from the dishwasher and reload and a couple of loads of laundry to fold...tomorrow!

Zach has an ear infection again. He had one a few weeks ago but after a few days on Motrin he was fine. I'm not sure if he should be seeing a doctor for something stronger. As long as I can control it with Motrin and/or Tylenol I'd prefer to avoid the antibiotics. On the other hand, if this is going to keep recurring, then I'd like to just do the antibiotics and get it done with! I guess I'll see if it gets worse. So far he has no fever.

Yesterday the kids and I went to K-Mart after school for sandals for Autumn and socks for Zach and Josiah. This morning we went to Sharp Shopper for more groceries and the kids stayed with my sister while I went shopping for seeds for our vegetable garden. As soon as it's not a swamp we want to plant the peas. I bought wax beans, radishes, beats, lima beans, lettuce, sunflower seeds, carrots, onions, and potatoes. We still had green beans and peas left from last year. And I'll buy the tomato & pepper plants at a local greenhouse.

If Zach seems okay in the morning, I'll head to MOPS. Tonight after supper we went to where Randy parks his truck and hung out there while he finished washing it. I'm so thankful that it is warming up. Kind of funny that we had very cold rain/snow/sleet yesterday and it's supposed to be in the high 70s or 80 by Saturday.

Since last Tuesday...

I haven't blogged in awhile and now I need to think about the past week and if anything occurred to blog about!

• Friday and Saturday mornings we joined our neighbors in having a yard sale. We got rid of some thing that were cluttering up our space.
• Saturday afternoon Randy, Josiah, Autumn, & I went to my cousin's wedding. It was lovely!
• Immediately following the wedding we went to the Transport for Christ Banquet. I'm in charge of the seating so we needed to be there early. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed the music of "The Skyline Boys".
• Sunday morning we went to church. In the evening some friends came over. Since it is chilly again we made a fire in the fireplace and roasted hot dogs.
• This afternoon I babysat my niece while my sister-in-law helped out at school. She came over a bit early so that I could go grocery shopping without dragging everyone out in the rain.
• Last Thursday we had our monthly meeting with Matt's caseworker. No changes there.

Cooking: Sunday afternoon I sat down with some more of my old "Taste of Home" and "Quick Cooking" magazines, picked out some more recipes to try, and made a menu for the next 2 weeks. This morning I bought the groceries so I'm set to experiment again. For supper tonight I tried "Shortcut Minestrone Soup" (delicious), "Onion Cheese Bread" (also delicious), and "Cocoa Cola Cake". The base of the cake was a white cake mix and I'm not a huge fan of white cakes. The cake was not overly chocolate although the icing was absolutely wonderful! So, this cake received a "great" rating from the kids, but for me I would've preferred it to have a stronger chocolate flavor.

Books: Last weekend when our friends came to visit the one brought me some books to read and I've been enjoying them! I recently read the first two books in "The Inheritance Cycle". Book 1 - Adragon and Book 2 - Eldest. I enjoyed them but they seemed just a bit to much like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and so felt a bit like a "knock off". Nevertheless, I do want to read Book 3 - Brisngr. Now I am reading a space trilogy by C.S. Lewis. I started Book 1 - Out of the Silent Planet and will most likely finish it before I go to bed tonight.

This week is another "mostly home" week. And I'm enjoying it as there is always stuff to catch up on around here...especially after consecutive busy weeks. MOPS is scheduled for Thursday but otherwise I can be at home. Some day I want to get seeds for the garden. And we want to paint Easter eggs on Friday. The weather is supposed to warm up again on Wednesday so I anticipate spending a lot of time with the kids outdoors towards the end of the week. And Josiah will need to start mowing by the weekend. We have a Maundy Thursday service at church on Thursday which we want to attend also.

Children From Hard Places - FamilyLife.com

Family Life has a great program on this week. This is the link to part 1. Children From Hard Places - FamilyLife.com There are actually 3 parts and you can access the other 2 from this link as well. Adoption is wonderful, but it is very important that prospective adoptive parents understand the reality that all adoptions involve loss...even newborn infants. I also found it interested that children from difficult pregnancies or deliveries can have the same issues as adopted/hurt kids. I want to buy the book recommended through this link.

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Pictures

This morning I took Mark to get his picture taken. He did well...just kept walking away. But he wasn't crying so that was good. And we did get a decent picture. I also picked up Matt's pictures. I was pleased with them.

Now that all the kids are in bed I want to do some straightening up of the house and fold some laundry. I need to NOT get side-tracked by the book I'm reading. :-)

I still have 10 tickets left for the Transport for Christ Dinner Concert on Saturday night (Yoder's, 6:00) featuring the Skyline Boys. $19/person. Let me know if you're interested.

The rest of my week is free! Well, Matt's caseworker and our foster care coordinator are coming to see us Thursday afternoon, but otherwise, I'm here and hoping to tackle some of those things that keep getting pushed back...like putting the spring/summer clothes in the drawers instead of having them sit around in boxes.

This picture was taken last week when we were enjoying the warmer weather. Zach has his standard "serious look" on his face.

Another Week

has come! We are all relatively healthy now and I'm so thrilled! Last week we did not need to cancel anything. This week I have very little planned and I'm excited to just "be at home" or be able to do errands as needed. This morning we went to Walmart. About half way through the kids got fussy so I did get what was necessary, but not necessarily everything on my list. I found a set of sheets on clearance...only to bring them home and discover they were "full" instead of "twin". And I found paring knives on clearance also. I lost my favorite one?! And only had 1 other one so I was excited to find these.

I had planned to do some work tonight after the kids went to bed as I really struggle to get much done when they are awake. But I think it will wait until tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I have Mark scheduled for 18 month photos and I can pick up the pictures I had taken of Matt a couple of weeks ago.

Today I tried 3 new recipes again...ham balls (mediocre reception by the family), a cheesy potato dish (raves by the eldest son, disdained by the eldest daughter), and a cereal bar cookie (liked all around). I've made nearly all the "new" recipes I had picked out so I'll need to either revert to my normal recipes or research some more to try.

Zach was not very impressed with needing to stay inside today after enjoying being outside most of last week. But he survived! :-)

I am currently reading "The Plays of J.M. Barrie" and enjoying it immensely!

Another beautiful spring day!

We went to MOPS this morning and I enjoyed it immensely! It was wonderful to fellowship with other moms and sit and eat breakfast uninterrupted. :-) Most of the rest of the day we spent outside. We are taking advantage of this warm spell as I'm sure it will get chilly again soon. Tomorrow morning I'm taking Matt to see his birth mom. Josiah has been struggling with a stuffy nose/sore throat for several days now so if his throat is still bothering him tomorrow I will probably take him to the doctor so I don't need to wait until Monday.

We are looking forward to a couple of more lovely days to finish out the week.

My house is clean thanks to my friend who cleans for me. The laundry is now all folded and needs to be put away...but that can wait until tomorrow. Time for bed. Matt was up at 5:15 this morning which was fine as he slept all night! He has not been sleeping all night and I appreciated being able to get a solid block of sleep.

St. Patrick's Day

Every year I think I should do something special for St. Patrick's Day just for fun for the kids. But every year, for some reason or another, it never happens. So finally, after thinking about it for 10 years I've managed to accomplish a special meal in honor of St. Patrick's Day. There is (as far as I know) absolutely no Irish heritage in my ancestry, but it was fun anyway. And we talked about St. Patrick and how he told the Irish about Christ.

"Best Ever Potato Soup"

"Irish Soda Bread"

"Peppermint Patty Brownies"

"Lucky Lime Salad" (modified)

"Lime Punch"

Today was a lovely day and we enjoyed spending a good part of it outside. As we were quite dirty from playing, we (that is, the oldest 4) ate outside on the deck. Josiah made us a table out of some scrap lumber.

As for opinions on the food: Autumn declared the soup & punch delicious. Josiah thought the soup was to spicy. My opinions:

• Soup--a bit spicy but very delicious and creamy
• Punch--good, the lime concentrate made it a bit tart, I'd probably use 1 can instead of 2 if I made it again
• Irish Soda Bread--delicious! I substituted regular raisins for golden raisins
• Lucky Lime Salad - I totally modified this and thought it was good although I probably should have used a bit less cream cheese
• Peppermint Patty Brownies--delicious! Especially that piece I ate while still warm.

Now I want to go tackle a bit of that housework that's been piling up while I was outside with the kids. Oh yes, and get ready for the morning. I have MOPS in the morning. I've missed the last 2 due to illness so I'm hoping to make this one. Then we'll enjoy the afternoon outside again!

Random

Today was a lovely day in the neighborhood! Everyone here was more or less healthy...a few runny noses and a minor headache but otherwise fine. We had play group this morning...7 women + 23 kids. I enjoyed it tremendously! And did I mention the kids were from 3 months to 5 years old?!

Janae fell on the sidewalk and skinned her face, elbow, and hip. Ouch! Very painful... She will probably have a scar at her eyebrow but it was just a good scuff. She already has scars from scuffs to her cheek and nose.

We enjoyed being outside in the lovely 60+ degree weather. As it is supposed to be this way the rest of the week I have great doubts as to getting much done inside and great hopes for spending lots of time outside.

Randy picked up our new "travel trailer" today. This one will sleep all of us in it so if we go camping on a rainy weekend it shouldn't be quite as bad. I feel like it is quite luxurious compared to the pop up we've been using. I'm excited to organize everything and go camping!

I finally did the paperwork to get Randy's license renewed for next year. Now I just need to mail it. It's due Friday.

This past week I've been reading (again) the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers. A friend had loaned them to me awhile back and I read them then. But I'm returning them on Saturday so I've been scanning through them once more before returning them.

Tomorrow is my "no plans" day of the week. So I'm hoping to tackle the laundry and maybe the camper.

We moved Mark to his "big bed" on Saturday night. So far so good.

Last night I ordered some more piano books for the kids. I couldn't resist and ordered some for me too! I was excited that I had some gift certificates for Amazon so I feel like I am getting quite a lot for only $15!

No new recipes today. With this lovely weather I pulled out some leftovers from the freezer and heated them up while we played outside!

Well, I need to type up Josiah's report for him.

Books...

for kids about adoption are fairly plentiful these days....but I have not found many that would work well for our boys. We did not adopt internationally so that rules all those out. Many books start out something along the line of "Daddy & Mommy didn't have a baby and you didn't have a mommy or daddy" but that doesn't apply for us either. Because we adopted through foster care, books about "biological mom choosing us to be your parents" don't apply. But because we received the boys as infants, the books specific to foster care don't really apply either as they tend to focus on kids who remember their birth parents and/or moving from home to home. The multi-racial family books don't work for us as our boys "match" us although they do have some Hispanic background. Oh yes, and some books are subtley disrespectful of the birth parents. Now to be fair, I haven't searched extensively, so perhaps the perfect book is out there somewhere...I just haven't found it yet. I have bought a few adoption books to read to the kids, but so far none really "fits" our family. So if any of you all run across the perfect book...let me know! Otherwise, I guess we'll just tell them their own stories without the aid of books.

On the other hand, I've read plenty of good books on adoption for parents. Among my favorites are "The Whole Life Adoption Book", "Adopting the Hurt Child", and "Parenting the Hurt Child". I also enjoy reading family stories--families that adopt, growing up adopted, birth parent/child reunions, international adoption, domestic adoption, foster care. Periodically I buy a new one so my collection is ever expanding!

Another Week

This morning I took Matt to the doctor and he finally got his immunizations. His mom & I spent "quality time" during the hour and a half of waiting/doctor visit. I took Janae to our doctor and she has an ear infection again. She is now on Zithromax and is getting better. We've been sick so much that I'm paranoid about who will be next and what they will have. If I have a day that everyone is fine in the morning I feel obligated to do as many errands as possible before the next child gets sick. Today I got a few groceries when I went to get Janae's prescription filled so I should be good for the rest of the week if someone else gets sick! :-) I really wish I knew how to insert a right side up smiley face.

Today I did not try any new recipes. I am concentrating on eating the leftovers before making anything else new. I'm planning a special St. Patrick's Day menu for Wednesday. This is something I think about doing every year and don't get around to doing. This year I've subscribed to "Taste of Home Holidays" magazine. This is published 4 or 5 times a year and is full of recipe cards focusing on a specific holiday. The latest one was on St. Patrick's Day so I am taking my menu mostly from that magazine. I will try to remember to take pictures and post them.

Since Thursday...

Janae has been sick. Sore throat and fever. While on Motrin and/or Tylenol she functions well, but as soon as it wears off she is very tired and unhappy. Otherwise we are all fairly healthy. Mark has his perpetual runny nose.

This week is busy...but of course quite a few of my recent "busy" weeks have ended up being "stay at home" weeks because of sick children. My appointments Monday and Friday are necessary regardless how the children feel (a doctor appointment for Matt and a visit with his birth mom) but the other days can be flexible if needed (play group and MOPS). Both of these I missed last month because of sick little ones though so I'm hoping that Janae soon feels better. Actually, if she doesn't feel better by tomorrow I may try to get her in at the doctor to check for strep.

Wednesday I'm hoping to make a special "St. Patrick's Day Supper". I've never done that before but thought it would be fun. Of course, I forgot to get some of the ingredients at the store so I'll need to work in a trip sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday.

We've been trying some more recipes. "Chicken Spaghetti Bake" was excellent. "Mix-in-a-Pan Cake" was good but some of the kids didn't like the coffee flavor. "Crock Pot Beans" was also delicious.

Today I kept Janae and the babies home from church. I am hoping that Matt takes a nap at some point because I'd rather make lunch when he's sleeping then when he's screaming because he doesn't want put down. Right now he's in his stationary jumper but I can tell he's ready to get out of that.

Tired

That's how I feel. Tired, half a sore throat, stuffy nose. Of course, last night I stayed up until midnight reading a book. Not real brilliant considering I normally have a little boy waking me up early every morning. But it was fun to do again! :-)

Now I should be folding wash and doing dishes and putting away the last couple of bags of groceries that are still sitting on the counter from earlier today. But I'm just not that energetic tonight. They'll wait until morning. Randy should be coming in sometime within the next hour or so...hopefully I'll be awake so I can at least say "hi" to him!

This morning I tackled taking the kids shopping to more than one store...a first since the addition of Matt. We went to K-Mart and Sharp Shopper and the egg outlet. The baby did fine. The one year old was done half way through Sharp Shopper and proceeded to scream through the second half. Oh well, we got it accomplished! Then I joined the other ladies from my MOPS table group for a lunch play date. It was fun to see them again since I've missed the last two MOPS meetings due to someone being sick.

The children enjoyed being outside again today. Rumor has it we are to get quite a bit of rain over the next few days so I thought it best to let them get as much outside time as possible today! Tomorrow is an "empty" day as far as my calendar....which means: dishes, laundry, straighten up the house; cook; etc. Now, off to try to catch up on some of that sleep I missed last night....

More recipes

I forgot to mention....the steak recipe turned out great! And the house smelled wonderful as it cooked. I also tried "Oatmeal Cookie Bars" which were okay, and "Cherry Swirl Cake" which was delicious (not to mention a breeze to make)...and ice cream would make it down right scrumptious! I mixed up "Overnight Pancakes" for breakfast tomorrow. But otherwise I will probably make something "normal" for the kids tomorrow for supper.

Spring is coming!

Since Sunday we've been enjoying playing outside!

Guess where we went today?

This morning Janae, Matt, & I had the morning out. My sister-in-law kept the other 2 boys for us. First we stopped to drop some things off at Grammy's house and Janae got to watch a Berenstain Bear DVD while Mommy & Grammy had a cup of tea. Then we went and got Matt's 3 month pictures taken. After that we finally went to Build-A-Bear to use Janae's Christmas gift card & spending money (& some of mommy's money too!). Finally, we went through the McDonald's drive-thru for a quick lunch to eat on our way back to pick up the boys. We also brought my neice along home for the afternoon so the girls can play. Janae's new bear is named "Becky".

New Recipe Trials continued

Today I tried 3 more new recipes. And No, I will not be keeping this pace up! This morning I tried "Ripple Coffee Cake". It was delicious. It is sweet so it pairs nicely with coffee or strong unsweetened tea. For supper I modified "3-Bean Soup" and served it with "Garlic Cheese Bread". I thought the soup was great. This soup was nice and flavorful (and I even used the real garlic called for instead of substituting garlic powder). I used all 1 kinds of bean instead of 3 because of the size cans I had in my pantry. And I forgot to get the spinach at the store to add to it...but doubt that would have improved it any in the eyes of my kids....although it would add a nice boost of nutrition. All that being said, without the spinach I should've subtracted some of the liquid. Autumn and I loved the bread. The others weren't as impressed. But they tend to be rather mundane and unadventurous in their food choices. :-)

I am trying a new steak recipe in the crock pot tomorrow. As I need to be out of the house fairly promptly I have most of it prepped and in the fridge. I just need to add the steak and some tomatoes and turn it on. And then it should be done for supper.

Today went fairly well. We had our final "neighborhood play group" of the winter. The kids had a blast together. And we played outside at the end of the morning. Mark was very cranky this morning so finally I put him to bed at 10:00. But then his nap and Zach's did not overlap so I did not have an hour or 2 with both of them napping. And Zach never did nap. I guess he thought it was to nice of a day! Matt did not sleep much either. As the (little) boys were very tired I sent everyone to bed at 7:30 with instructions that they could read until 8:30. Normal bedtime is 8:00. Everyone except Josiah was asleep before 8:00. So that probably means they will be awake early again. So I'd better head to bed too....

Sunday

Today, finally, we are feeling well, although everyone still tires quickly at the end of the day. We went to Sunday School at our church and then went to my sister's church to our niece's child dedication service. This afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful weather and finally played outdoors amidst the puddles and muddy yard and melting snow. Randy went to visit his mom in the hospital (emergency hip replacement on Friday). He left again shortly after supper.

FOOD
Periodically I get very tired of cooking the same things all the time. And frequently when Randy is not home I make the same things (pancakes, french toast, eggs, grilled cheese, enough!) So a few weeks ago I pulled out several old recipe magazines and made lists of things I'd like to make. I do this by putting a sticky note on the front of them with the recipes for that specific magazine. Anyway, then last week I organized those recipes into menus. Finally, on Saturday I managed to get to the grocery store and shop for the ingredients to make them. Of course, I missed some so I'll need to improvise or go to the store again!

Today I tried 3 of the recipes: "Honey Bubble Ring" for breakfast. This was only a partial success because it was still kind of doughy in the center. This afternoon I made "Cereal Trail Mix". I forgot to get the nuts to put in it but the kids seem to like it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised that they enjoy the banana chips in the mix. And then tonight for supper I tried "Taco Pasta Salad". It was delicious! But it made way more than we could eat so I decided it would be a good dish to take to a picnic or potluck....or simply divide everything in half when I make it again. It really was the perfect Sunday night supper for us.

One problem I have with my 2 week menu plan is that it incorporates soup on 3 days. Now normally we are huge soup fans. However, having someone or the other sick for a substantial part of last week we have eaten a ton of soup! So even though these are different varieties, they are not sounding as appealing to me as they did before we went through last week. But I don't want the ingredients to go to waste so I may make them anyway...or if they take nonperishable ingredients I may just rearrange my menus.

Back to this next week. I have several things on our schedule but considering how many things have been changed, canceled, or postponed in the last 6 weeks....we'll have to take it a day at a time. On thing I do know is that the temperatures are finally consistently in the 40s and 50s. Today I walked around the house looking for the daffodils and tulips and crocuses peeking through the dirt and the buds emerging on the trees. After this seemingly very long winter, I am very excited for spring....even if it's only a small taste before getting cold again!

Misery and Better again

By Thursday night I was starting to feel rather miserable. During the night Josiah also got sick so the 2 of us were quite miserable through the night and during the day Friday. Randy was fighting it Friday but by Friday night he too was horribly sick. It's rather rough when the 3 oldest people in the family are not feeling well. Today we are all better. But Mark is still not quite himself, hopefully he is just still kind of washed out from being sick on Thursday and not coming down with something else! Everyone still is pretty tired in the evening and not very energetic...other than Zach who is climbing the walls!

The visit supervisor picked up Matt for this visit with his mom yesterday since I was to sick to take him. Randy picked him up when it was over. Randy also took Janae for her kindergarten test. I was disappointed to miss that, but knew that he could manage just as well. :-)

Tonight there is a family dinner scheduled (Randy's mom)...we will be staying home and going to bed early. We'll see how we are tomorrow....my niece's child dedication is in the morning and we had hoped to go to that...we'll see.

I am hoping to get to the grocery store this afternoon....with being home for so long, other than very brief trips for necessities, my list is getting rather long.

The weather is warming up. The snow is melting. The crocuses are blooming. I hear birds chirping early in the morning. Spring really is coming!

Thursday

finds us sick again. Janae woke up this morning around 4:00 having been sick. I cleaned up and tucked her in on the sofa. About an hour or so later she was sick again. So I am getting an early start to my day. Baby is still asleep! Before he had gotten the RSV he had started sleeping all night at least some of the time but he hasn't since then. It is now almost 6:00 and he's been sleeping since 8:30 or 9:00 last night. Very exciting! :-)

I was hoping to go to MOPS today but that is not to be. Perhaps the next one. Randy should be home later this afternoon. I can't wait!

I just heard a bird chirping outside. There is hope. Spring really is coming! I am enjoying the slightly longer days we've been having. Time changes next weekend so we'll have daylight later in the day which will be nice. This picture is from last year (February or March). Normally by February I can see crocuses. This year has been so cold, snowy, and now muddy that I haven't even checked their normal spot to see if they are coming up.

Since I am now home today, my plans are: package the Avon orders when they get here, do some (or all!) the bookwork & bill paying if possible, straighten up the house, come up with something other than soup for supper for those of us who are not sick, organize my grocery list for the time when I can get away and go shopping, hold and cuddle little boys and read them & Janae books. We'll see.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. ... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:4,6-7

**Mark was also sick today....

Wednesday

A good day. No one was sick during the night. Josiah & Autumn went to school. Mommy, Janae, & boys went to Walmart for more formula. Of course, we got some other things too! And we stopped at the post office for the mail. Our box was stuffed full. I normally stop by whenever I go away. Which has been rather rarely recently. One of the things in the mail was the latest issue of "Adoptive Families". I enjoy going through this magazine, reading others' adoption stories and picking out things that could work for our family. Not to mention simply relaxing and looking at a magazine...any magazine! :-) Janae and I painted some butterfly sun catchers this afternoon. I will hang them at the window and remember that someday it will get warm again.

Should we wake up healthy again tomorrow, I hope to attend MOPS. I missed the last meeting because Matt was in the hospital. Several of the kids were rather touchy tonight. Not sure if they were just exhausted, or sick, or something happened at school....

Janae quoted her Bible verse from Sunday School to me. "For God so loved the world" I guess they're learning the abbreviated version. Anyway, then she wanted to know how all the people stand on the world? And why did God make the world? And He loves everyone...even the people in Haiti? I'm amazed at what her little mind thinks of when she's supposed to be falling asleep.

I never did get my tea tonight. While I was on the phone, someone bumped it and it dumped all over the living room carpet. I'm so glad we did not invest in a high quality carpet and that we chose a beige, textured option! And when we need to replace it I'll probably say, "let's get something to hide stains...we have grandchildren now." :-)

Tuesday & Book Reviews

Zach was still not feeling well when he woke up. But by lunch he was keeping tea & crackers down and after his nap until bedtime he was ravenous! The other kids had more complaints of off and on stomach ache. Hopefully that is the extent of the virus for them.... So today we did a lot of "sitting around", reading books, playing with legos, drinking tea, eating saltines & jello & soup.

Book Reviews:

• "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo (translated by Charles E. Wilbour, Abridged, Edited, and with an introduction by Paul Benichou). I bought this used at a book sale in 1993. I have finally read it. And I really enjoyed it! But I do recommend the abridged edition (mine had 520 pages, fine type). I believe the unabridged is over 1000 pages.
• "It's A Jungle at Home: survival strategies for overwhelmed moms" by Debra White Smith. This book has brief chapters (3-4 pages) filled with lots of illustrations and tidbits of wisdom. I appreciated the very balanced approach to parenting that this author promotes.

I don't want my children to be happy

I found this through another blog and thought it was great. And I totally agree!


It's Almost Naptime!!: I don't want my children to be happy

Hope you enjoy the link!

Monday...continued

This morning around 10:00 Autumn's teacher called requesting I pick her up as she doesn't feel good. She hasn't been "sick", but she has that "feels like if I eat I will puke" feeling and fell asleep before 8:00 tonight...as did Janae who said her belly hurts off and on. Josiah told me tonight that his stomach has been hurting off and on all day also. Zach never did keep anything down today and I finally banned him from everything until tomorrow when we'll try again. He did seem much better though. Bedtime was 7:30 tonight in light of the illnesses and everyone went without a fuss. In fact I believe all the lights are out already even though I told them they could read until 8:30 like normal. I moved Josiah & Autumn off their top bunks for the night. I've had kids get sick in a top bunk before and it is not a pretty sight so I will avoid that if at all possible!

Matt was very cranky but now that I gave him a bottle he fell asleep. He needs a breathing treatment though before I can put him to bed.

We'll see what tomorrow holds....and through the night for that matter. I have a feeling I should just go ahead and reschedule Janae's kindergarten test (currently scheduled for Wednesday) for later in the week.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases..." Psalm 103:2-3

Monday

The stomach bug that's been going around has arrived at our house. Zach was up 3 times between 2:00 and 5:30. Anyway, I'll be postponing Matt's doctor appointment scheduled for this morning....and we'll see what the rest of the week holds--probably lots of laundry!