Thursday, October 23, 2008

Goodwill Virgin...

...post to follow sometime in the next week.
It all depends on my friend Linda...no pressure.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Boogers...

Apparently, we’ve forgotten to teach something rather substantial on our seven-year road of parenting…

Where to put boogers.

Tonight, as David and I were putting the boys in bed, just before devotionals, David spied something on the wall outside of the bathroom. As he got closer, he realized, without having to ask Cael, that it was in fact a large booger smeared on the wall. He did ask Cael, who immediately broke into tears…confirming David’s question.
David cleaned the wall as we talked to him about why he would put a booger on the wall in the first place. Our conversation:
David: “Cael, why did you put a booger on the wall?”
Cael: “I don’t know…I guess I didn’t know where else to put it.”
Mom: “The bathroom is right there.”
Cael: “I know, but sometimes I’m…not…near…the bathroom”
David: “Have you put them other places?”
(Both of us chuckling at this point)
Cael: “Yeeeeeesssss….(boo-hooing)
Both of us: “Where else?”
Cael: “In the car, all over my carseat…”
David (only because I was laughing so hard…): Why would you do that?
Cael: “I don’t know…there’s not a bathroom in the car…”

We told Cael he was going to have to clean his car seat tomorrow after church, but that it was late and he needed to go to bed. As we knelt to pray next to the bed, however, I ran my hand across a crusty mess of at least four boogers on the side of his bed. Gross! Cael immediately started crying again.

Mom: “Cael, why would you put a booger on the side of your bed?”
Cael: “Cause there wasn’t any more room on the other side…”

David and I are still chuckling over this one. Tomorrow, we plan on checking the whole house. Under chairs and tables, on the walls…everywhere. Cael will be right behind us with cleaning supplies and a sponge.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

One year ago today...




One year ago, today...at this very hour...
I had just gotten the kids to bed and called my good friends, Kathy and Linda. I had been sent home from the hospital earlier that morning. The nurses had told me I'd be back later, and sure enough, my contractions had picked up once more that same afternoon. I was sitting in our comfy recliner in the living room, after just putting on a bit of make up and brushing my hair. Yes, I put on make up before I deliver my babies. You don't want the pictures to look terrible!
I remember having such control and calm about me, and being so exicited deep inside. I was planning a natural birth, but I was soooo tired from the whole night of contractions that started just 15 hours earlier.
The first time (Monday morning around 2 a.m. ) I woke with contractions, they were really nice and steady and definitely something I had to breath through. I got up and bathed to see if they would go away (and decided to shave my legs while I was in there) and they stayed pretty strong. David and I called Kathy and she woke her children and brought them over here around 4:30. We left for Chattanooga, stopping at McDonalds around 5:30 a.m. to get a yogurt parfait. Those young girls freaked out at the counter, knowing I was in labor. I guess it was obvious, huh? But I had to have some kind of energy, and I knew they wouldn't give me anything in the hospital.
I got to Women's East, contractions still going strong, and just as soon as they hooked me up to the monitor, they completely stopped! The nurses had me walk around outside for an hour or two, and nothing picked back up. I was sooooo frustrated, but at least I had some fun walking partners. Linda, my dear friend and "doula" had made it just in time to walk a few laps in the parking lot with us. She kept me laughing with a silly game called, "Good idea, bad idea". We still joke about my first "Good idea, bad idea" being about coming to the hospital and delivering INSIDE the hospital instead of being outside in the parking lot telling jokes. Eeeeenyway, we decided to go home, and I felt like a fool. I cried most of the day, and was still having contractions, but nothing too painful.
Around 3:30 or so, I remember the contractions taking a different turn and then getting much worse while I was making dinner around 6ish. I called David at work and told him to be ready to take me to the hospital that night after dinner. We decided to get the kids in the bed calmly and then head out again.
While sitting in that chair, waiting on Kathy to show up and bring her girls who were staying the night with my boys, I got a call from my friend, Nancy. Even though she knew I was in some pretty extreme pain, she continued to talk to me and wish me luck and remind me to call her when he was born...and to rememeber to relax and... She drove me nuts and I'm pretty sure I hung up on her.
We arrived at the hospital sometime around 10, I think. I had a really terrible headache and immediately asked for something for it. The nurse laughed that I would care about getting pain meds for my head, rather than my contractions. It was awful!
I remember so vividly, being checked and them telling me that I was 5 centimeters...it was a good number to hear. There was a VERY loud woman screaming down the hall, "Noooooo, it hurts!!! Stop it, I hate this!!!! Ahhhhhh! OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhh! No, NO" It scared me - I knew she was doing this naturally as well. I told the nurse specifically to make sure my room was no where near that woman's room. I would not be able to handle a screamer.
As they walked me to my room, I realized there was no other room but the one next to the screamer. Fortunately, she delivered within about 20 minutes of us getting in the room. It was the most beautiful sound I could have heard...silence.
I labored in silence and in the dark, with only David, Linda and Kathy surrounding me. They were perfectly calming and encouraging. The whole process was so beautiful and amazing - one of my most favorite experiences in life. They prayed for me and touched and rubbed me when I wanted them to and got completely away from me when I made the slightest change in my facial expressions. What a blessing to be surrounded by such love and attention!
I moved rather quickly in transition from 7 to 10 centimeters and water breaking all in about 3 minutes or so and one check from the nurse. That's when things got out of control a bit. Dr. Childs was with us at that point and he was trying to help me but desperately wanted me to consider some pain meds. My body soon started pushing the baby out, and I had no control over it at all. Forget the counting and breathing - my body was taking over. I had become the screamer the next girl didn't want to be near. David said later that I sounded somewhat like a bear. I don't care - that's a feeling that cannot be described in words. It was crazy and wonderful, and uncontrollable, all rolled into one.
I did give in and screamed for statal (sp?) towards the end, and Dr. happily obliged. But in just about 5 minutes after receiving the love, I gave birth to my little Tate Christian. I remember seeing him, hearing that glorious cry, and then going straight to sleep. I woke up a little while later, seeing David next to my bed, butt naked ( it was the drugs...maybe too strong??). I was trying to convince Linda to look at his butt, for some reason. Kathy was having to reassure me that Tate was okay (and that David wasn't butt naked) and that he was seriously "cute". I don't know why I was so worried about that. Someone brought me food that I couldn't keep down and then I got up to pee.
I remember I couldn't see Tate for like 4 hours because of the drugs in his system. It was a long several days. He had to stay in the NICU for some unknown infection. They never gave me any details of what it could even be, but I coulnt' have him in my room at all. I made the trip to the NICU part of the hospital every 2 hours to nurse him and then come back to my room. I cried almost every time to have to leave him. The regular nurses in that hospital were terrible to us, but the NICU girls were so wonderful. They loved their "resident Tater"...he became their friend for the four days he was in there. Much of that time, he was their only baby to care for, so he became pretty spoiled.
I wasn't supposed to stay at the hospital any longer because of insurance, yet Tate had to stay on the meds. The nurses were very unclear and very unprofessional about allowing me to stay. They were trying to convince me that I could easily get a hotel and come over to nurse every 1 to 2 hours. Yeah, right...that would have worked out well. Dr. Childs really blessed us and tried his hardest to allow me to stay there. He eventually worked it out on the last night so that I stayed in a room actually attached to the NICU, right next to Tate's little bed. I wasn't supposed to be sleeping in there, but he was "hiding" me there. He stayed that last night at the hospital to make sure I was not seen by anyone else. He sat in the little tiny room in the next chair and talked to me a lot that night.
We got to unhook him and bring him home the next day, and still never found out what he was being treated for. Either way, he came home a sweet, healthy bundle of joy.
I dont't know why I get so emotional about these things. For some reason, it tears me up terribly every time my little boys turn a year old. It's almost like I'm loosing their babyhood or something. After today, I can no longer say I have a ?? month old baby. I have to say he's "one" now.
I've done it every time. I sat in Cael's floor on his birthday morning and all these emotions came rushing over me about his birth. Micah's traumatic birth experience was something I did not enjoy at all, yet, on his first birthday, I still smiled and cried to remember it all again. Today has been hard on me. I wonder if it's because this is probably the last time I'll remember my baby's birth story on the eve of his first birthday. I think I knew deep down that I would have another after Cael, and possibly even another after Micah...but I think we are done now. It's really okay - it is a decision that we've talked about and pretty much agreed on, but for some reason, it's a hard thing for me to grasp right now. Tomorrow will be different.
I'm so thankful for my Tate. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with a smart, sweet, caring man of God for a husband, for my two older boys, Cael and Micah. What a day to remember, huh? Birth is such a miracle of life that God allows us to experience. I'm thankful.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Cael and Micah's conversation yesterday

Yesterday, I had to put the boys in seperate corners for being mean to each other. Micah had bitten Cael and Cael had yelled at him for it....you know, normal sibling yuck. After they had been in time out for four or so minutes, I let them out and made them hug and apologize. Cael held on to Micah's little hands for a minute and looked him deeply in the eyes. This was their conversation:
Cael - "Micah, when we're older, can we live in a house together?"
Micah - "Yes, Cael."
Cael - "If you want to, we can take our car that we buy together out to visit girls, and ask them to marry us. We'll ask them also if they know Jesus. (I find this funny that his plan includes asking them if they know Jesus AFTER he proposes)
Micah - "Okay."
Cael - "I'll be 25 and you will be 21...is that okay?"
Micah - "Sure, Cael."

Thought it was too cute not to pass on. Plus, I've been getting some threats from friends about not posting a new blog....

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Four Square according to Wikipedia

Gameplay
Four square requires only a ball and a court made of four squares. With such little required equipment, almost no setup, and short rounds of play that can be ended at any time, it is a popular playground game. Gameplay varies significantly from region to region.

Objective
The objective in four square is for individual players to enter the court in the lowest square and move up by eliminating players in higher squares. [1] Once at the top square the player begins to score points, and has the privilege of serving the ball to start each round. Players are eliminated when they cause any number of specific errors. With each elimination, players advance to until the lowest square is available and a new player joins the court in that position. Any number of players may wait in a line outside the court for their turn to play.

Boundaries
Four square is played on a square court divided into four smaller squares of equal size. Different communities or groups use different size courts, ranging from 16 to 24 feet [2]. Court sizes are often adjusted to be appropriate for age or skill level.
The outermost lines of the court are considered fair play and the ball may land on any portion of an outside line and still be in play. The inside lines are designated as out of bounds and balls landing on any portion of an inside line are in error. A popular abbreviation of these rules is known as 'inside out, outside in'. Balls landing outside the court are considered errors as well. [3]

Starting gameplay and service
Each round of the game begins with the player in the top square serving the ball. The server must first drop the ball in their square then serve to another square. The serve is intended to put the ball into play fairly and must be reasonably returnable by the first receiving player. From this point on, regular game play follows until a player is eliminated. You may spike the ball through out the game and not be out.

Regular gameplay
Players must allow the ball to land once in a square, and the occupant of that square must return the ball to any other player's square by hitting or striking the ball with their hands. They may hit with one or both hands but must hit cleanly with no holding, fumbling or catching; or be eliminated. Once the ball lands in a new player's square, that player must return it, and so forth, until a player makes an error and is eliminated.

Errors and elimination
Players may be eliminated for the following errors:
A player hits the ball out of bounds.
A player allows the ball to bounce more than once in their square.
A player fails to hit the ball properly into another player's square.
A player hits the ball more than once before returning it to another square.
A player violates a special rule. Four square is known for its many spontaneous rules.
Eliminated players leave the court, all remaining players move up to the next highest square, and a new player joins in the lowest square.

Officiation and judging
Four square is a fast game and often played by younger children. It is often difficult for children to self-govern a game of four square and it is important to create some form of officiation or judging when appropriate.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Thanks to my faithful readers...

Chasity and Melinda - you are so faithful to read and comment on my blog. I love you both so...
Chasity, do you seriously not know what Four Square is?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Parenting flaw realized tonight

Cael and I went to a Bryan College performance at our church tonight. It was an amanzingly beautiful choral arts thing - I enjoyed it so much. He could have passed on it, however, but did enjoy the "dessert social" afterwards with his friends. They had brownies, cookies, cakes, pies, and to top it all off, little bowls of M&Ms on every table (at least every three feet!). He ate his weight in all of the above. I let him play Four Square (please tell me everyone knows about this game - David doesn't have a clue what it is!) with his friends afterwards to make sure he got some of the sugar out of his system before we got home and expected him to to straight to bed.

Anyway, on the way home, we talked about the performance and the desserts and his good time he had playing. But he mostly reviewed ALL of the desserts he had - in order of when he ate them. At the end, he added. "Then I had a big bowl of applesauce mom...you know, to make everything I had eaten healthy."

It hit me hard that I do this to my children. If we have for dinner say, grilled chicken with broccoli and brown rice, I'm good. However, if we have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (mostly jelly with a tiny spread of peanut butter since Cael makes them now) for dinner, I'll always throw a banana slice or a bowl of applesauce at them and insist they eat their fruit. I think I'm seriously trying to cancel out the unhealthy dinner by forcing fruit on them.

Obviously, Cael thought he could cancel out all the junk he ate tonight with that applesauce.

Thought it was funny...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

I was not ready!

I took the boys the other day with me to Eckerd to pick up some pics. We were having to wait several minutes for the poor little lady to figure out how to put my picture disc in the machine. The boys were being VERY patient with the whole process, actually....going back and forth from the toy aisle showing me cars and such (fortunately, the toy aisle was right next to the photo lab). About 10 minutes into our wait, however, Cael became frozen in place in between me and the toy aisle. I asked him if he was okay and he said nothing. I once again called his name and he ignored me, very fixated on something at the checkout counter.
I looked over to see a little, brown-eyed, ballet-tu tu-clad seemingly six year-ish old girl standing with her mother....looking back at my son. She was strikingly beautiful with dark skin and dark hair in a long ponytail about mid-way down her back. She and her mother paid for their items in a minute or two and left, and Cael came out of his trance. He walked back over to me like he had just seen an angel. I asked him what he was looking at, and he said, "Mommy, she was a very pretty girl. She was really pretty...did you see her?" He had that gleam in his eye similar to that of Mogley from the Jungle Book at the end when he sees the little girl at the stream....you know what I'm talking about...

To quote my dear friend, Debra Achenbac...."OH MY COW!!!!!" I have never had feelings like I had after he said that to me. My little boy had just, possibly for the first time ever, appreciated someone else's beauty. He's six years old! I know this doesn't automatically put him in the dating game, but it's got me freaked out for sure.

It's got me thinking....the first time anyone asks him if he has a girlfriend, I just might knock them out! Is that going too far?

Monday, April 7, 2008

Warning: Husband filling in.

I'm best known as "Ginger's husband", but my real name (and the one I use on TV) is David. Ginger is recovering from hernia surgery, and the occasion calls for a comment or two worth putting on record.
First: homemakers are truly AMAZING people. I have a new perspective and appreciation for what my wife does every day: managing our house and raising our children. She has always had my full support, but now I can truly empathize when Tate doesn't nap like he should or Micah goes into meltdown because he's beyond hungry (he's American-starving - my phrase, Ginger can expound later). What amazes me most is how GOOD she is at her job! And I now have futher confirmation as to why men don't have babies: we would have let the race die out in the first generation. Patience and perserverence are not our strong suits...
Second: Children truly are one of the greatest joys of life. While Christ is first and wife is second, the gap between them and my children is EXTREMELY narrow. Sure, they've driven me nuts several times during my tenure as homemaker, but they have truly made me appreciate what a joy and blessing they are. How it comes about that careers, hobbies, plans, whatever get ahead of your chilren is completely beyond my reason and understanding.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Lonely...I think

My two oldest boys and David just left for a trip to my MIL's house in middle TN. They go every once in a while and do "work days" at her house. She is a widow and loves getting odd jobs around the house done, and of course, the company of her son and grandsons.
They all look forward to a "men's" weekend when they go, and I look forward to time alone to catch up on housework or organizing books or reading...but maybe too much. It's funny, really. They just left about 20 minutes ago. I've walked around the house and straightened it up of all the toys and such left out, and I've done a load of laundry...and now I just don't know what to do with myself. It's waaaaay too quiet. I just might go insane without the noise of my little boys. Tate will be up soon. Heck - I might just go and wake him...
I'm terrible! I don't know what I'm going to do for two and a half more days...

Monday, March 17, 2008

Cael's Star Wars obsession

Cael has recently gotten into Star Wars with David. They started off building Lego Star Wars sets, then last week started the movies. I didn't like this very much, because of the violence. I honestly thought he wouldn't be able to handle it, and that he would forget about Star Wars altogether, but it's not worked out that way. I guess there are worse things in life to get upset about, huh?
So, we've made masks and costumes for them, and last weekend, even bought the boys light sabers to battle with. Cael is "Caleb Skywalker" and Micah is "Stormtrooper Michael." His imagination is wonderful!
Yesterday, we were outside playing Star Wars. He was continuously changing our characters. I would be "Princess Leah" one minute then change suddenly to R2D2, and then legless C3PO. He kept shouting out Star-Warsy sounding phrases and swinging his light saber around like a mad man. At one point, he said, "Darth Vader - I'll have my lawyer invade your ship if you aren't careful!" Then, a few seconds later, I heard him yell, "You will never cut off my comical arm!!"... I'm pretty sure he meant "mechanical"...not sure what "lawyer" was supposed to be.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

What's in a name...or in Micah's nose...

My sweet husband and I have been able to convince our funny two year old that there are bunnies in his nose. Not for entertainment, however. For some reason, he allows us to get "bunnies" out of his nose, rather than boogers. He's had a minor cold the past few days, and today we upgraded the name of his boogers to giraffes. The bigger, nastier boogers are now called dragons and the really yuck ones are appropriately tagged fire-breathing dragons.
Tell him you're getting boogers out of his nose and he runs, screaming. Ask him if you can chase his bunnies or dragons and he welcomes the cleaning.

I am quite obsessed with my boys' noses and ears. I clean them constantly - but that's a "whole nother" blog!

First Blog...what the heck is a blog?

Who created that term? Anyway, I was just reading a friend's blog this morning that she sent me the link for, and wondered why in tarnation I don't have one of these things. Now I do! HA! Chasity, this one's for you - you queen of makin' up crazy non-words that make me laugh. You are hankin', hairy awesome!