Properly grateful

What if every thought were printed on my forehead?
Every judgmental "hmmph."
Every contemptful sneer.
What if the wandering of my mind was mapped out for the person who was trying to talk to me?

What if they could see how little I esteemed them and how much I made of myself?
What if they could feel the pricking of those comments I bit back?

What if the contents of my heart poured out not through my tongue, but through my very skin so that the whole world could see every shade of every unworthy hope I ever clung to?

And what if the One who does see me so, still loved me so, that he came and endured all my black heart and bled on my behalf to make me his own?

What if I were properly grateful?

Mis-directions

Mom: Paul, what homework do you have tonight?
Paul: Oh, Mom - I've got to bring in a roll of paper towels and some welcome cards.  The welcome cards have to be rectangular.
Mom: Welcome cards?
Paul: Yeah.
Mom: So cards that say, "Welcome"?
Paul: I think so, and they have to be rectangular.
Mom: Should we print these?
Paul: I don't know. I think you can just buy some.
Mom: How big do these need to be?
Paul: I don't know.
Mom: How many of these do you need?
Paul: I don't know.
Mom: When are these due?
Paul: I think I need them tomorrow.
Mom: How are these going to be used?
Paul: I DON'T know!
Mom: Well I'm not going out to night to buy "Welcome" cards when I don't know how many or what they are.  I'll e-mail Mrs. M and see if we can get some more information.

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Dear Mrs. M,

Paul came home today with some vague instructions that he was to bring a roll of paper towels and some welcome cards to school with him.  The paper towels we can handle, but he couldn't tell me how many welcome cards, how big they should be, or how they would be used.  Can you please help clarify?  

Thank you.

---------------------------

Hi!
We are going to do a couple of projects on Friday. I have enough paper towel rolls, but Paul is welcome to bring any empty rolls. We are also going to do a little paper folding using rectangular greeting cards ( used is fine).
Sincerely,
Mrs. M

Sock Musings

Nathan's socks have made a pact never to go through the laundry in pairs.  This means that at any given time, I need to have a minimum of 18 pairs of socks that fit him in my house.

Of these 18 pairs:

2 pairs are on the radiator drying

1 pair is in the diaper bag

1 pair is on the floor of the car

11 halves of pairs are in the sock drawer

     3 of those half pairs are in the dirty laundry

     3 more of those half pairs are in the clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away

     5 remaining half pairs have hidden themselves in the dark and secret places in my house

Which leaves 3 pairs of clean socks in the drawer, none of which match his clothing.

On the other side of things, there are my girls who have made a pact never to wear matched socks.  Since they now wear the same sock size, I just drop their heap of neon psychedelic socks on their bed and ask them to divvy them up amongst themselves.

A story by Petra

This is a story from Petra.  She dictated it and mommy wrote it down almost verbatim.  It has a stream of consciousness quality and is oddly violent.   

Once upon a time there were 2 girls, who were named Petra and Julia.  And there were 2 brothers named Nathan and Paul.  They had a house that was yellow, like butter.  They weren't healthy because all of their food was chocolate and cheese puff and Doritos.  They loved to dance at parties and eat cake at birthdays.  They enjoyed relaxing in their new beds.  And they loved to pull out strings with nametags.

They pulled down the blankets.  The girls shut the brothers out, and the boys shut the sisters out.  Then they got really mad and started kicking and punching.  Their mother named Sarah always yelled at them.  They hit their mother in the face with a little blue braid that goes in the hair as a decoration.  Then they just sat down and started to read.

After they read their books they jumped on the floor and ripped the chairs.  Then they had a smile on their faces.  Then they got on the floor with a needle and crawled across the floor and when they saw the perfect spot to put the needle, it was in the middle of the office.  They turned around after they did the needle and they made the needle a big water fountain and they turned it on.  And they made it with water and when it was hot in the house they would turn it on and it would sprinkle the house.  When the house was filled with water, it was an ocean house.

Their middle names were Paperclip.  Petra Paperclip, Julia Paperclip, Paul Paperclip, and Nathan Paperclip.

They pulled out the dresses from Mom's closet. They hid to wait for mom to say (in a high squeaky voice), "Oh!  My dresses!"

When they went to tae kwon do, they always kicked the masters.  Then they would smile and play and run on the mat.  The masters got very mad.  They put up rules that there was no kicking allowed anymore.  But they always did that in tae kwon do, so the masters put up another rule.  There was no destroying the mat.


The End.

Glamorous Food

What happens when you unleash a dozen little girls on all the frosting and sprinkles they can use to decorate cupcakes for Petra's birthday party?

Glamorous Food!

Gun and Duck Safety

About a month ago Julia shot me in the face with a nerf gun at a range of 4 inches.  I was very irritated and started yelling at her.

She made the mistake of saying, "I didn't think it was loaded."

Then I really blew my top and shouted, "You always, ALWAYS assume the gun is loaded.  I don't care if it's a nerf gun, a real gun, or a squirt gun.  You ALWAY assume its loaded."

Fast forward to this week.

Nathan and I were outside exploring and I found one of the kids' rubber duckies sitting out by the barn.  I squeezed it a couple of times and then stuffed in in my coat pocket.

Later that day I was bringing the kids to tae kwon do.  Julia was jokingly sassing me about something small, and I pulled the ducky from my pocket and squeezed it in her face.  It misted her face with the bit of water still in it.  I quickly apologized saying, "I'm sorry, Julia.  I didn't know it had any water left in it."

She looked at me and said, "You always, ALWAYS assume the rubber ducky is loaded!"

Sage advice.

Over-qualified

I was supposed to write up an resume for work, but was feeling under-qualified for my job.  I did this instead.

Medical Advice

Julia: Dad has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow?

Mom: It is a follow up with the doctor who did his knee surgery.  He is going to tell daddy that it is okay to go back to tae kwon do classes.

Julia [thinking and wrinkling her brow]: But daddy has been going to practice.

Mom: Yes I know.  It’s okay.  His physical therapist told him tae kwon do would be a good way to stretch and exercise his leg as long as he was careful.

Julia: Do I have a physical therapist?

Mom: Your physical therapist is grandma.  Daddy has a different one because he wouldn’t listen to her anyway.

Julia: Hee-hee.  I’m going to tell daddy you said that!

Piano injury

Today we had a piano related injury at the Kuhlman Farm.  You know, we warn the kids about the stove, "Hot!" and the fridge, "Never close yourself inside," but how easily we overlook the nefarious piano.

I went outside this morning to get Paul and Julia on the bus.  Nathan came out with us and he helped me bring the recycling bin back from the curb.  When we finally came around by the door I could hear Petra inside crying frantically.

I hurried inside to find her sitting at the piano bench in near panic.  She had tried to open the lid covering the keys and her thumb got pinched between the lid and the little compartment where it pops open into.  I quickly pulled her loose and let her cry in my lap and read her a story.

I don't know how long she was trapped like that.  It could have been as much as 10 minutes, and I'm sure it felt like forever.  She told me, "I was crying and I tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but I couldn't."  I don't blame her.

Her thumb wasn't broken and by lunch time she was using it normally.

Who knew such danger lurked in such a seemingly harmless place?

It is cold

When I was little I lived in the snow belt in western Pennsylvania.  When you are little, the snow is nothing but fun.  I loved the snow and my mom could always promise me that we would have at least one good snowfall by my mid-November birthday.

This year I saw a few flakes spitting around in the wind in the week before my birthday.  I thought, "Oh how nice.  Snow by my birthday." On the evening of my birthday, the skies opened up and started draping the world in 6 inches of snow.  Glorious!

And cold.  Very, very cold.  I think we are having record lows and the windchill the last couple of mornings has been 1°F.

The children are each asking for a hot water bottle before bed.  They don't really need them because we keep the house pretty warm at night, but oh, how they love them.

The hot water bottle habit started over a week ago before it got very cold.  The girls and I had just watched "Frozen" and afterward Julia started complaining about some ailment in her foot that sounded rather like she had gotten a little too wrapped up in the movie, and Elsa's icy magic had frozen her foot.  She limped around the house with all the dramatic flair of an 8 year old girl.  My treatment was to give her a hot water bottle.  It seemed to cure the problem.

Petra also got a hot water bottle, and she liked it so well that she went to sleep hugging it on top of her belly.  She has also spent a couple of nights with the hot water bottle tucked in her pillow case so that she could rest her head on it.

Eventually Paul started getting a hot water bottle for bed too, and eventually even Nathan.  I had held out on Nathan, even though he is arguably the child who needs it most, because it is kind of tricky to place a hot water bottle for a child who might wake up with his head 180° and 3 feet away from where it started in bed.  The first night I gave him one he was immensely pleased; so pleased in fact that I was afraid I had made a mistake because I wasn't sure he was going to be able to go to sleep because he was so busy loving on his hot water bottle.  As I left his room he was lying beside the bottle, patting it, and babbling softly to it.

He slept okay, I think, but when he toddled down in the morning, he was clinging to the not-so-hot water bottle and carried it around for a while.

I should have asked for a hot water bottle when I was a kid.  My parents kept the house a little colder at night and I remember waking up fairly regularly in the night in the winter with cold, achy feet, and pulling them in closer to try to warm them up.  It never occurred to me that it was the sort of problem that one could actually DO something about.

I don't mind the cold weather.  It's not that I like being cold, but I do like all the wonderful ways there are to warm up.

Come to the River

I dreamt that I was packing for a journey,

And in my sack went all the things I’d need,

I knew the road would surely transform me,

Then I seemed to hear a voice call low and deep,

Stop! Don’t take bitterness with you,

The cankerous sore that steals your joy away.

Dreams of petty wrath

Hobble you on your path.

Lay down the pride that ties you to this pain.

And come to the river.  Come to the river.

There the fount of every blessing pours for you.

Stop! Don’t take all your fears and worries,

That blind your eyes with useless anxiety.

I am your map and guide,

Ever at your side.

Through drought and storm you must lean on me.

And come to the river.  Come to the river.

There the fount of every blessing pours for you.

Stop! Don’t take the riches of this world,

Chasing trails of endless vanity.

Without money come and buy

The bread that satisfies,

The nourishing riches found in me.

And come to the river.  Come to the river.

There the fount of every blessing pours for you.

Stop! Don’t take this need to save yourself.

The weight of guilt is greater than the sea.

I've drawn to my side

So you could wear a yoke that’s light.

All you need on this journey is me.

And come to the river.  Come to the river.

There the fount of every blessing pours for you.

I blinked

I blinked and my kids got bigger.
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Paul got to go on a camping and backpacking trip with Steve last weekend.  I think he came back 2 inches taller.  They went with three of Steve's dear friends and another boy age 14 to some mountains in West Virginia.  Paul climbed on some rock outcroppings that tested his fear of heights, heard a bunch of guy humor (they're all Christians, but jokes about being gassy are universal), carried a 20 pound pack for a mile and a half in and out of their camp site, and started trying to develop a taste for "spicy" food because of a regional specialty called pepperoni rolls.

Paul came back smelling like wood smoke and feeling pretty confident.  It was a good look for him.
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Julia enjoys going to weapons class with Steve.  She has been working on learning nun-chucks and is about to take up the bo staff.

Last weekend I took her and the little guys on a trip to Grandma and Grandpa H's house.  She was my big helper in the back seat, running the movie player and dispensing snacks while we were snarled in a traffic jam.  I smiled to myself when she and Petra started to watch "Frozen," which they have both seen several times, but Julia felt it necessary to explain what was going on in the opening scenes to Petra.  When we went to the park Julia and Petra spent a good chunk of time on the merry-go-round.
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Petra keeps growing and maturing with pre-school.  She brings home songs she has learned at school and shows them off like a pretty dress or a good joke.

A couple of weeks ago I got to take her for a hayride without any of her siblings.  It was oh so nice to have just her and me doing something fun together.  We visited some animals at the farmer's market, played on big wooden play sets, she sat in my lap for a "haunted" hay ride, she picked out a little pumpkin and got to eat a cookie that was bigger than her hand.

She has been sick recently and I think she dropped a couple of pounds.  It is like magic watching her coming back to herself again.
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Nathan is still working with a limited vocabulary, but he understands EVERYTHING.  The other night I told the girls that we could watch a cartoon after they put their pajamas on.  Nathan ran to his room and came back carrying his pajamas.  He shakes his head for no and sometimes vocalizes it.  He has learned the power of nodding his head for yes.  His nods used to be these slow, awkward things that involved his shoulders and threatened his balance.  They are still a little tricky for him, but less of a struggle.  Last night Steve gave Nathan the choice of leftover pizza or hot dog for dinner.  Nathan nodded when the hot dog was offered, and so got what he wanted.  So nice!

Nathan wants to be a big boy so badly. When Steve and Paul were loading into the car for their camping trip, Nathan jumped in too.  In his mind, he was all set to go.  He had a meltdown, wailing, "Daddeee, daddeeee," when I pulled him out of the car.  Poor guy.

This week we moved Nathan from the crib to Paul's old bed.  He's more than a little proud of it.  Steve asked him where his bed was, and Nathan lead Steve to Paul's room.  That's right - big boy Nathan has the big boy bed.

Autumn loves

I love autumn and the succotash colored country side.

I love hay rides with my daughter and steel colored clouds scraping across the sky.

I love the full moon with tatters of clouds slipping by.

I love pumpkins and the promise of baking, spicy smells filling the kitchen.

I love warm stew and hot bread.

I love piles of leaves and children plunging headlong.

I love cold walks and returning to warm homes.

I love dark mornings that tempt you to linger and dark evenings that invite you to rest.

I love the fleeting changes that work their way across the land, begging me to pay attention or else I'll miss it.

Lord, let me love you best. 

The rug is down

Our laundry room is unheated, so I was pleased when we put a rug on the tile floor a few years ago.  Then the washing machine started leaking.  So we bunched the rug up and stuffed it to the side.

After a while we pinpointed the "leak" to the drain hose which fed into a stack.  The hose was going too fast and overflowing the drain stack.

After a while more, Steve fixed the problem by installing a wash sink.  The washing machine drains into the sink, which gives the water more time to go down the drain.  It is more forgiving.  Steve put a mesh filter on the end of the washing machine's drain hose so that lint would not clog the sink.

Yay.  No more leaks.  We put the rug back down.

A month or so later, I noticed that the rug was wet after the washing machine had run a load.

I handled it gracefullly.  "NO, No, no,no, noooo..."  I lifted the rug up and threw it over a rack to dry.

I watched the washing machine during the next load of laundry.  The problem was that the lint trap quickly became mostly clogged with lint, and the water had to squeeze out of a handful of small openings in the mesh.  It came through those holes with such force that it sprayed over the top of the wash sink like a fountain.  

I told Steve about the problem, but he didn't have any solutions to the problem handy.

The next laundry day, I cut a clear plastic orange juice jug to fit around the drain hose and filter.  I tied my water shield in place with plastic grocery bags.  The whole time I worked on this jury rigged thing, I was thinking, "Steve is going to look at this and roll his eyes and shake his head.  They he will say, 'Oh, I have this much better way of fixing the problem.  Let me just get it out for you.'"

Plastic orange juice bottle spray protector

Instead, Steve saw my contraption and said, "Hey that really works well.  Good job."

Nuts.

Oh, well.  The rug is down.

Kuhlmans and Friends

Kuhlman children corralling guests to read to them

Family shot with Tyson

Paul picked out a horned melon from the grocery to try.  We're still figuring out how to eat it.

It's not blood

We made homemade Concord grape jam.

Nathan approves.

Food for the brain

Today I began a list of books I am interested in reading.  These are books that I think will stretch me a little or a lot.

Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoffer
Catch 22 by Heller
Metamorphosis by Kafka
anything by Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy (I read this before but I had a book report deadline and didn't have time to enjoy it)
Fall of the House of Usher by Poe
My Antonia by Willa Cather

I also wrote down some movies I would like to see.

Beyond the Splendor
Amazing Grace
Luther
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

These aren't my normal brain candy fare, but I would like to give them a fair try.
Here is what I am actually reading and watching:

Ragweed by Avi - the story of a brave country mouse in the city.
Remarkable - a chapter book about an ordinary little girl in a fantastic town.
Escape from Planet Earth - a cartoon movie with reversal on the typical plot of hostile aliens coming to take over the Earth
Clutch Powers - before The Lego Movie, this was the Lego movie.

Hang in there, brain.  We'll get there someday.

Petra said

Petra: Mom, can we go to Toys-R-Us and buy more toys on Saturday?
Mom: Petra, I think you have enough toys.
Petra: I like more toys.
Mom: You know, having too many toys, too much isn't good for your heart or your gratefulness.  Maybe we can give away some of the toys in your room, then we can think about getting new stuff.
Petra: Don't get rid of my [favorite toy of the week].
Mom: No, I won't get rid of your special toys.
Petra: You can get rid of my alien toys.
Mom: You have alien toys?  [mom tries to remember or picture alien toys]
Petra: Yes.  They are invisible.  You can get rid of them.

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Petra in her new Unicorn bike helmet

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Petra's pre-school is having a Penny War for a fund raiser. Students bring in pennies and the class room that raises the most is rewarded with a pizza party. Students can also sabotage other classrooms by dropping nickels, dimes, and quarters, which count as negative points into the other classes' jars.  I gave Petra a big stack of pennies and told her to be sure she gave them to her teacher for the Penny War.  When Petra got back home, I asked, "Did you give your teacher the pennies?"

"Yes, but there was no penny fight.  They were for getting a pizza party!"

Apparently she was expecting some sort of battle with pennies flying back and forth.

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One of the TV programs the kids have been watching is "Magic Schoolbus," which, ironically, is all about learning science.  One of characters is a little girl named Dorothy Ann who often delivers some of the science facts with the preface, "According to my research..."
Petra must have cued in on this because last evening she was outside with her daddy and started explaining to him, "This is an cicada shell.  I did invisible research and learned all about them."
"Really?  You do invisible research?"
"Yes, I do lots of invisible research.  You see those clouds?  Those are ungdulala clouds.  I know because I researched them.  I also did invisible research on plants, so I know all about plants."
"I see.  So what kind of plant is this?"  Steve pointed to the tree by the play set.
"It's a tree plant."
"Yes.  What kind of tree?"
"Um... A mulberry tree."
"You are right.  Good job, Petra."

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Petra and Julia like clothing with bright colors and one of their favorite things is pairing mismatched colors and patterns.  We very seldom veto an outfit.  I figure if they are covering up all the necessary body parts and are not being degrading to themselves or threatening to others, they can let their flair for style take them where it will.  Yesterday Julia wore a shirt and shorts combination that made Steve's eyes hurt.

While Julia was in school I took Petra and Nathan clothes shopping to a second hand store.  Petra picked out two of the most brightly colored striped pants she saw.  She was delighted with them.

Last night I told Steve about how Petra homed in on these colorful pants and he said, "Well they can't mismatch themselves any worse than Julia's combination today."  I held up the pants for him to see.  "Okay, the pants on the right do TRY to outdo Julia's outfit today."

Nathan's stitches

And while we are on the topic of injuring my children's faces, here are picture from Nathan's stitches.

This happened at the beginning of August.  Here's the scene: boys are arriving at our house for Paul's birthday party, I'm at the door talking to a dear friend, and Nathan is running around having fun.  I hear him crying but think, "Steve and Grandma K are in the living room with him.  I don't need to insert myself."  Then Julia comes to tell me that Nathan is bleeding a lot.  Nuts.

We think he fell face first into one of our cast iron radiators.  Grandma K's party clothes were splotched with blood and Steve was mopping blood out of the rug.  The cut on Nathan's head wasn't terribly deep, but it opened pretty dramatically.

Steve and I were supposed to take the boys plus Julia to play laser tag.  My dear friend volunteered to send her husband for laser tag in my place.  (He kind of wanted to, but was trying to be responsible and work around the house instead. He was okay with suddenly having his wife's blessing to go play instead.)

Petra went to stay with Grandpa K and Grandma K and I took Nathan to the urgent care.

Nathan did great.  He was smiling and playing by the time we were checked in.  To hold Nathan still for the stitches, the nurses swaddled him in a white sheet, then strapped him down in a papoose, and one nurse held his head still.  He was really mad about being restrained.

Nathan with numbing gel taking effect before stitches.

5 Stitches - Nathan recovering from howling and straining against his restraints

On the way home with a toy car and a pretzel - all better

It is healing nicely

Julia's teeth

Julia has had a mishap. She broke her two front teeth.  Yeah, the adult teeth.

Did she break them sparring in tae kwon do?    No.
Did it happen in weapons class?   No.
Did she crash while whipping over the concrete on her scooter?  No.
Did she fall out of the tree house or careen into a post while swinging wildly?  No.
Did she slip and fall while ice skating on a wet kitchen floor.  Yeah.

We hurried her to our dentist and we are hopeful that her teeth will live.  She will go in for another check-up in a few weeks and if the teeth are living and not dying, the dentist will build the teeth back up to look more or less normal.  Then when she is a teenager and has stopped growing we will probably get crowns for her teeth.

In the meantime we are supposed to baby the teeth.  The dentist said, "No beef jerky, no biting into apples, no corn or the cob."  We are threatening her with her life if she tries to chew on her nails.

She is feeling self conscious about people looking at her, but even more about her newly developed lisp.  On the way home from the dentist she said, "Dad, I think I might need to go to the counthelor at thchool."
"Why, honey?"
"I'm afraid people will make fun of me becauth I can't thay my etheth."
"Well, hang in there honey."

Fortunately we had her favorite cheeseburger soup to eat when she and Steve came home.

I promised not to post a picture of her teeth, but below if a picture of what she did to the floor.

Has it been too long?

Can I?
May I,
Across time
- One thousand, two thousand years,
Across distance
- Deserts, mountains, oceans, rivers,
Across tribes
- Whose ancestors never numbered Abram,
Across languages, philosophies
   enlightenments, cultures, and
    revolutions of technology
Will the blood stretch?
Can I?  May I even now be yours?

Who holds now, always, and forevermore,
   a small wrinkle of eternity;
Who spoke stars and planets,
   architect of all high and deep places;
Who breathed life into dry bones and
   added nations to Abraham's name;
Whose image is borne in speech
   and learning, art, and reason;
Does not my blood life force reach
   every corner?
And, yes, even now you are mine.

Petra's 1st Day of Preschool

Petra started preschool this week.  She was pleased and excited to go.

Last week we visited her teach, who gave Petra a little bit of an assessment.  When Petra met Mrs. T, she looked at her feet and said, "I might be a little shy."

I looked at Petra and then at Mrs T and said, "Yeah, maybe for about 5 or 10 minutes."  

Then one of the teacher's aides from last year piped in with, "Or for about 2 seconds."

Mrs. T gave Petra a little quiz, but the questions were designed for children from 3 to 5 years old.  Since Petra is closing in on 5 years old, she breezed through the assessment.  She started cheering herself on saying, "I'm really great at this!"

She walked around the room and observed that Mrs. T's room had much of the same furniture and toys as her room last year.  She was very excited to see that Mrs. T has dress up clothes!

Nervous Petra

Confident Petra

Off we go!

Paul & Julia's 1st Day of School

This August Paul started 5th grade and Julia 3rd grade.  

Steve and I are pretty pleased with their teachers and classes this year.  They will both have access to more individual attention to support and stretch them.

Waiting for the bus

Nathan looking serious and pensive

Ready set go!

The school is trying to enforce the dress code more carefully this year.  I in favor of it, but we had to dig a little bit to make sure Julia had enough shorts and skirts that were long enough.

Some of my favorite people

Here are a couple of shots of my little yahoos in front of the wild sunflowers.

Just almost helpful

Wednesday morning I was on my way out the door to work and asked Grandma, "Could you please have the girls move the laundry along?  They need to move the stuff from the washer to the dryer.  They can throw a Tide pod in the washer and run the reds or darks load."

Tide pods are little packets of liquid detergent.  The packet dissolves in the water and releases the detergent.

Later that evening I asked Paul, "Please move the laundry along.  You will need to take the clothes out of the dryer and move the load from the washer to the dryer."

I was working in the kitchen.  A little while later Paul came back to the kitchen and said, "Look what I found in the bottom of the washing machine.  What is it?"

I stared for a moment.  "That's a Tide pod.  Wait a minute.  Where did you say you found it?"

"It was in the bottom of the washing machine.  It feels really cool," he said gently squishing it.

I stared a moment longer while my brain slowly pieced together why there was a Tide pod intact in the bottom of the washing machine.  "Paul, was the clothing that you just moved into the dryer wet?"

It was his turn to stare at me for a moment.  "I don't know."

We went to check.  No, it was not wet.  The girls had put the detergent and clothing into the washing machine but did not know how to turn it on.  Paul followed orders to move the clothes into the dryer, but never questioned the fact that they were not wet.  I had to laugh.

On Thursday, I taught Julia how to turn on the washing machine.

Middle of the night medical aid

I have a new rule at home.   Don't try to make sound medical judgements at 4 a.m.

There was the time I double dosed a child with ibuprofen in the middle of the night. Just last week I dismissed Julia after she came to me at 4 a.m. with injuries from having fallen out of bed. 
"Mommy, I hurt my face and my leg and my side."
"Okay."
"My face is swelling.  You can feel it."
"Yep.  You're going to have quite a shiner. You'll be fine.  Go potty and then go back to sleep.  zzzzzzzz" 
She now has a bruise down the side of her face and a three inch scratch across her back from landing on and breaking the waste paper basket. I can only guess that she was dreaming and threw herself out of bed to escape some imminent terror.


I'm thinking about putting up this poster to help the kids out.  What do you think?

School can not start soon enough

Steve, my love.

You know I like having days at home with the kids.  I appreciate having time with them and a chance to work at making our house a home.

Working at home today has included:

• Stripping beds - planned
• Folding laundry - planned
• Reminding the children 47 times to keep folding the laundry - expected
• Sweeping the kitchen floor - unplanned
• Because Nathan left a trail of uncooked rice across the floor - unplanned, at least by me
• Cleaning about 1/2 cup peanut butter of the floor for which the dog was grateful
• Trying to keep Nathan from needing more stitches because he was pitching down - not surprised
• Paul's mattress half on the floor - expected

We made it to the grocery store and adjoining gas station.  That outing included:

• 2 separate trips to the bathroom
• having a stranger help me find Nathan
• spanking Petra
• vetoing 235 toys residing in the "school supply" aisle
• pulling the shopping list out of Nathan's mouth
• giving up on the grocery list
• sharing driving the cart
• re-commandeering the cart
• ditching an item at check-out because waiting for a price check was going to be the end of me
• having a another stranger flag me down on St. Rt. 42 because my gas cap was flapping in the wind

Now clearly, I bare a large degree of responsibility for the craziness today.  But I'm not sure how to make it better.

All this to say, please don't work late.  We're having quesadillas for supper and I might need a long walk.

Paul at Webelos Camp

Paul had a big overnight scout camp last month.  Steve came with him for the first day and night, then Paul went solo for the next three days.

When Steve came home, Julia asked him what he did at camp.  Steve answered, "I played try-to-get-17-boys-in-bed-by-10-o'clock and I failed miserably."

Highlights of the camp -
Paul became the go - to guy in his pack for spider disposal, because he is not afraid of daddy long legs, and several of his buddies are.
Paint ball!
Discovering that you can go through the salad bar line and just put cheese and croutons in your bowl.
Getting to drink Dr Pepper through a twizzler.
Ecology classes - learning about bugs.
Getting to hang out with one of his best buddies in the world.
"Secret" party after hours to eat candy in his tent - which sort of moved tents without him, "So I just went to sleep!"
Spending the last night sleeping under the stars - called Outpost.
Stinkin' funny skits.

Things we hope go better next time -
The weather kept them from all but one chance to swim.
Paul's socks got wet but he didn't bother to change them until he was limping with soreness.
He didn't love the foil dinner on camp out night.  Or breakfast. "It was sausage INSIDE eggs.  Yech!"

Thursday evening I went to camp for Parents' Night and to bring him home.  I found the tents for the boys in the very back of the camp, but they had already packed up their personal gear.  I lingered for a moment trying to decide how to find Paul's pack, when around the bend came Paul.  He was glad to see me and I started asking how things were going.  And then, "Paul, where is the rest of your group?"

"They left me at the bathroom."
"Should we go find them?"
"I think they'll be here soon."
So we talked another couple of minutes, but a nagging sense was growing that Paul was not where he was supposed to be.  We wandered all the way back to the front of the campground, when one of Paul's leader came rushing up to us, "Paul! WHERE have you been!"  The poor guy was just almost to tears, "We made it 4 days without any mishaps, and in the last 30 minutes we lost four scouts."

Paul's pack had been at the swimming pool when Paul and his buddy accidentally got mixed up with the wrong pack.  They left the pool, then stopped to use the bathroom.  I think that while Paul was in the bathroom, the other pack left, and his buddy realized they were with the wrong group and headed back to the pool.  Paul came out, didn't see anybody he knew, and went back to their tents, even though all their stuff had been carted to the parking lot by then.

I think the leaders were afraid that I was going to be upset.  I didn't realize how hard they worked to keep individual boys from being alone, so I wasn't too concerned.  I am glad, however, that I found Paul before I knew he was missing.

Georgia Vacation 2014 - wildlife

Aside from the hornets, we saw some other interesting wildlife.

Steve got a shot of this snake in the pond. He and the kids were in the boat at the time. Steve decided this was not the kind of snake to chase down and try to pet.  Copperhead maybe?

Petra and I found this guy.  My hand is in the picture for scale.

We also saw deer and wild turkeys.  We heard coyotes and hear rumors about bear and bobcats.

Georgia Vacation 2012 - brave girls

It is fun to see what is the same and what is different from last year.  This year Julia dared to use a rope to swing out and drop into a pond.  Steve was with her for the first few jumps and said the older children hanging out there were very encouraging to her.  Julia seems to be about classifying with numbers this year.  She explained to me in depth that the most basic jump by the rope is a Level 1 jump.  It’s called a Peter Pan.  You run sideways with the rope and swing in an arc over the water.  A Level 2 is when you pull the rope back further and jump from a boulder.  Level 3 is starting from the boulder, jumping sideways and holding on with one hand for part of the way.  (Some crazy boys showed us that one and Julia has not attempted it yet.)

Julia sailing through the air

Mommy too

Petra was also brave this year.  Thanks to swimming lessons, she was happy to leave the steps in the pool.  She spent most of her pool time jumping from the steps to swim a few strokes into somebody’s arms.  She can only swim as far as she can go on one breath, but she has learned how to open her eyes underwater, which is huge.  At the tree house she was climbing ladders and bridges that scared her too much last year.

Georgia 2014 - Hiking Adventures

Part 1 - The Dog is Gross

We took a couple of hikes, walks, and forced marches.  One day we took a trail to find another bond and see if it was worth fishing.  It was the 6 of us with Nathan in the backpack and Maggie coming along.  The pond was disappointing and the trail was in disuse.  We lost the trail for a little while and cut cross country just a little before finding it again.  Fortunately, nobody has broken out with poison ivy, and I think we have unloaded all of the burrs.  

We met up with Grandma on the way back to the cabin, and she gave the kids and I a lift in the car.  Steve walked Maggie home, combed out a score of burrs, and then we immediately gave her a bath because she had done something unspeakably disgusting on the trail.  What was it?  I can’t tell you – it was unspeakable.

Part 2 - Swimming in the Rain

One evening I took Paul and Julia on a “forced march” around some of the property in the drizzling rain because Maggie needed a good walk and they needed to get out of the cabin for a while.  They thought they were being sneaky because they got ahead of me and took a shortcut home, but they took most of the walk I meant for them. 

When we got back, I commented, “It’s too bad we didn’t just go swimming.  In the light rain, the pool looked all silvery and lovely.”  Steve pointed out that we could still do it.  I glanced at the clock – it was getting close to the kids bedtime.  Well really , more Petra’s bedtime.  So Petra stayed in for a proper tuck in time, and Paul, Julia, and I scurried up the hill to the pool.  Since it was raining, we didn’t even bring our towels with us.  We swam until Paul and I were shivering with cold.  It was dusky out and the pool lights were on making our legs look like buttered popcorn.  It was spontaneous, fun, and a little adventurous.  Paul and I were chattering cold on the walk back with Paul saying things like, “I can’t remember what it is like to be warm and dry.”  We decided that Julia’s motto should be the line from the Frozen song, “Cold never bothered me, anyway.”

Part 3 - Run for Your Lives

On the last full day we took a walk to see the waterfall and maybe the cave.  I say maybe, because Steve wasn’t sure he was good for that part of the trail with his knee still recovering from surgery.  He brought his two trekking poles, but was prepared to turn back if the trail was too rough.  I was nervous about taking three children up on a trail that was not well marked to a cave that gave me the willies.  Nathan was napping back at the cabin with Grandma.

The waterfall was very pretty.  In my opinion, the most technically difficult part of the trail is the slope right after the waterfall.  You actually clump up a steep slope right beside the falls.  The path there is mostly dirt, and after all the rain it was, well, wet.  Steve took it slow with his trekking poles and made it to the top to where the trail leveled out for a little while.  Paul and Maggie took the lead, Julia was a little ahead of me, I kept pace with Petra, and Steve ended our wagon train.

Suddenly, Julia cried out, “Ow.  Ouch!  Something hurt my foot.  Ow, ow, OW.”  She was wearing her crocs (rubber clogs) and something had poked her on the sole of her foot.  Steve said, “Just stop Julia.” 

But I noticed insects buzzing around us.  “Julia go.  Go!”  We quickly established that

1.       1. The insects were some kind of hornet

2.       2. We were all being stung

3.       3. These things had a big territory that they defended fiercely.

We had to cross a 10 foot wide creek bed on rocks to get away from the place where Julia was first stung and they were still buzzing us.  I hate to use the term swarm, because it wasn’t like the air was turning dark around us, but even Steve kept shaking his head to shoo them away.  I had been stung while crossing the creek bed and was feeling fearful because I am allergic to some bee and hornet stings.  I had my meat tenderizer (home remedy) and Epi-pen with me, but we agreed that we needed to turn back and get out of the woods.  Paul and Julia led the way out.  I waited Steve to get down trail a little ways, then had Petra climb on my back and we booked over the creek bed and through the hornets as quickly as we could.

I don’t know how Steve got back down that slope beside the waterfall so quickly, but I think some angel of mercy must have been guiding his feet to keep him from hurting his bad knee.

On the way down the trail, I praised Petra, telling her what a good job she was doing of holding on to me.  “Petra, you are the best little back pack EVER.”

We got out of the woods, warned some inbound hikers about the hornets, and I tended my stings.  Paul and Julia had run on across a field to the candy store.  (I’m shaking my head and rolling my eyes.)  When Steve got to them, Paul was picking out a piece of candy, which he had to put back, and Julia said, “Look, Daddy.  They sell a sting kit here.”

“Your mother has a sting kit.  But you ditched her at the trail head.”  They had missed the part about staying there to regroup.  I was pleased that they didn’t panic or start weeping when they got stung.  We needed them to move, and they moved.  They got away from the trouble and made for an enclosed space.

Steve and Paul each got stung once, Petra twice, Julia 3 times, and I got 4.  I did not swell up, but it shook me up pretty well.  God bless Benadryl.  Even Maggie got stung at least once, and, poor dog, I kept walking into her to hurry her along the trail when she wanted to stop and lick at her shoulder.

I was grateful Nathan wasn’t with us, and that Steve was.  I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that my reasonable fear of bee/wasp/hornet stings trumped my facing my irrational fear of caves.