I have plenty of not-me moments to report although I’m not sure I want to. My mind’s crowded and things are slipping. The weekend is never long enough.
Maddie swam. Aric and Askala cheered. She cut off a few seconds. Andrew played hockey and I cheered. Andrew’s second grade teacher cheered too:) It was fun to see Andrew scan the crowd after each goal.
Sunday Dad rocked in Little Rock with his band. After naps Aric took the kids sledding and snowmobiling. My oldest 2 are like polar bears because they never get cold! This time my little Ethiopians enjoyed the snow too. Grandma fed them a warm supper.
Our latest science faze: carnivorous plants like the sundew and poisonous pitcher plant. I’ll admit I get as excited as the kids watching videos of these amazing plants. We’re leaning towards the Venus Flytrap - Dente with wicked shark-like teeth. I’m hoping our plant survives being shipped in this weather and I’m hoping we can find something meaty for it to eat. If you’re interested: http://www.predatoryplants.com/
Here are a few photos of silly kids and the Okoboji winter games.
The kids got a bang out of the homemade treasure hunt and took their jobs seriously. Their first clue: what really sucks in our house? They were stumped. Eventually Maddie remembered the Kirby. The clues took them upstairs and to the basement with twins toddling behind. The last clue was rhymes with weasel and Grace, without any help, thought of her easel. The prize attached to the easel: a trip to the candy store. We settled on a few chocolates and 200+ pieces of bite-sized candy to celebrate the big kids’ 100th day of school.
School this morning went well. 2 teachers and 2 kids is a perfect ratio that will probably never happen again:) There was minimal competition, lots of language-learning and fun games. I made the mistake of talking about yesterday’s dentist appointments which caused a momentary lapse in attention span and we switched to an oral hygiene lesson. Apparently my attention span is equally poor. I brought the kids to daycare later this morning and we weren’t scheduled at all today. We hit the drive through on the way home. I ordered a really big Diet Coke to satiate my upset stomach:( The plan for the afternoon is to make a treasure hunt because Maddie and Andrew will be home early. The winning prize will be equally delicious for Mom:)
Dad and the twins had dentist appointments today. This was the twins’ first checkup and I’m relieved (even with bottles of milk) their teeth look great! We have been blessed by relatively healthy teeth in our family- which balances out the kids’ problematic ears. Melaku and Askala are proud of their new toothbrushes and have been brushing all day. Aric went sledding with the 2nd graders before heading back to work.
We moved Melaku back to his crib last weekend and he is again sleeping through the night. It was an instantaneous change and he didn’t resist moving back. He must appreciate the familiarity of his crib and the close proximity to Mom and Dad. Askala, on the other hand, is not sleeping well. Nighttime and daytime sleep are lacking resulting in a hefty dose of toddler drama! Sometimes she snuggles in with us and other times she prefers to be alone. Grace still joins us midway through the night. Her naps are on the endangered list.
The twins’ teachers are visiting tomorrow morning. It’s been a month since we’ve seen them due to schedules and illnesses. I can’t wait for Katie and Kim to hear sentences:)
Andrew stayed home today. This nasty cold virus ruined his easy-breathing streak. After checking oxygen saturation (borderline low) and consulting with his pulmonologist he started back on a heavy dose of oral steroids. I sort of knew this was where we’d end up but the side effects of the steroids are unpleasant. I wanted someone else to give the go-ahead. An 8 year old home from school on steroids is not ideal. We passed some time wasting cutting-up baby diapers, sorting out the polymer and making “magic gel” - then adding salt to make liquid again. It will not work to wear a diaper in the ocean!
Aric and the twins cheered for the Comet basketball teams on Friday night. The rest of us were too tired and instead listened on the radio.
Saturday we partook in the Okoboji Winter Games. Later I heard the pressure of at least 200 cars and 1000 people (totally my estimate) on the ice caused geysers in newly drilled holes. Next year we’ll park on the beach! Andrew scored a few goals and played with the opponents for the final game. We watched the crazy polar plunge, ate Insane Tacos and gourmet truffles. I spent the majority of the day with the big kids because Aric left early with the 3 youngest who are ill-equipped to withstand cold weather. I really enjoyed my big kids minus the usual interruptions!
Uncle Nate and Aunt Alicia plus their kids stopped by on Saturday night to rehearse for special music. We especially enjoyed Baby Laney - though it is a good thing she goes home again because we have some jealousy issues:) Nate and Alicia are musically gifted. Their complete confidence in Maddie and Andrew as performers is much-appreciated. Nate and Alicia quickly helped our trio transform an old hymn (unfamiliar to my kids) into a beautiful song of worship. Uncle Nate accompanied them on guitar.
Sunday morning Aric, Maddie and Andrew performed at Carmel Reformed Church, my grandparents’ home church. I am biased - but the kids (and Aric and Nate) did great. I love to hear them sing! I wish their performances were recorded so I could listen again and again. I’m thankful the kids live in a place where they get the opportunity to be on stage and build confidence. We enjoyed lunch with Great Grandma and Grandpa, great aunts and great uncles after church. Grandpa has protected waterways for pheasants and we watched them eating in his backyard - truly a beautiful sight.
Sunday evening we enjoyed Cousin Megan’s 4th birthday and Aunt Dode’s birthday. (Aunt Dode’s real name is Emily but I’ve never called her that.) We ate lots of yummy food and the kids burned off some of the sugar they consumed. We also read an original hand-written letter by my Grandma Grace from 1940. She was smart and spunky already!
In between the chasing around this weekend Grace and I were practicing writing letters. I made a 3 and commented “with a straight line in front, a 3 looks like a B.” Grace added “B wooks wike bweasts Mom and - it starts wiff a B too!” Grace most definitely keeps us on our toes - much like Maddie did at this age. She also uses religion as persuasion - as in “Jesus wivs in my heart Mom and He said it was okay.” It’s hard to argue! 
Pictures coming when I need another study break soon:-)
Being back in our routine today was helpful - although running on less than 4 hrs of sleep was not ideal for memorizing statistical formulas. I woke at 6AM with 3 toddlers in (my) bed - a nice surprise except one early bird was patting my face. With a gentle mommy plea I begged for another 20 minutes of sleep - I even offered a bottle of warm milk. A loud “WHY????” threatened to wake the others, so we got up.
Melaku’s feeling much better and I’m hoping a full nights’ rest with benefit us both. Askala seems to have caught the cold bug. She’s generally a little heartier so I’m hoping it passes quickly. It’s difficult to discern illness and the typical unpredictable toddler behavior exponentially worsened by poor sleep habits.
Even when I’m irritable… my kids give me reason to smile (and cry happy tears).
After bedtime prayer Andrew said: “Mom - could you talk to (so and so) and ask him to check on Uncle Justin when he gets to heaven. I really miss him.”
*Andrew misses Justin most when he plays legos. Justin gave Andrew his first Lego creation kit and then spent an hour building the awesome alligator. Justin gave undivided attention.
Andrew pointed to his right upper molar and said “Mom - this one’s the sweet tooth in my mouth.”
We’re hoping to catch a basketball game, a few hockey matches (on the lake!) and some rest this weekend. Aric and the older kids are performing at Great Grandma and Grandpa’s church on Sunday. I hope we are all healthy and well so we can stop by for a quick visit after church.
Today was looong. Aric left early and came home late. The 3 youngest and I were home for the day - except for Askala’s haircut. This was Askala’s first haircut - never mind the buzzes in Ethiopia:) She sat perfectly still perched on Aunt Stacy’s counter top (she’s much too tiny for the chair) and tonight she sat not-so-still while I corn-rowed her beautiful hair. What a difference a good trim makes! The braids went in quickly and the ends were so neat.
Aside from that bright spot in our day, we spent our time trying to get along. Maddie wisely suggested we bundle up and go outside which would have worked well except my 100#s sink through the ice and their 25#s slide away on the ice. Snow shoes would have made for a more efficient recovery of my 3 sliding penguins who did not appreciate the sport as much as Maddie and Andrew. With a little momentum it is possible to slide over 50 feet across our backyard! It’s also possible to accidentally slide 20 feet when you are a lightweight. We watched a lot of Elmo and Dora and ate homemade caramel pecan rolls:) Melaku seems to be on the mend.
Melaku has a fever - or as Grace would say “Mewaku has a beber.” We stopped at Grandma’s clinic to confirm the temperature, brought the delinquent kids to school, and picked up medicine (and candy) from Grandpa’s store. At home we’re doing nebs and keeping the fever down with Ibuprofen and Tylenol. The blessing in disguise is a day of cuddles with Melaku - and maybe tuning into a few wimbas. Melaku is one of my cuddliest children and I will enjoy the 1:1 time - maybe even co-sleeping for an afternoon rest. Respiratory illnesses seem to be prevalent - I’m hoping the others stay healthy.
