Field Trip

Yesterday was a field trip for Kenny (eldest son). We went to the Maryland Science Museum in Baltimore for a Planetarium showing of Planet Trek. They have been studying the planets in school, so this trip was to tie into that. We had a great time. I said we, as I was a chaperon. How is it that the teachers always give me one of the spirited boys? My eldest is probably the most compliant child (even though he was missing child at the last field trip to Baltimore), yet I always end up with the boys who are constant movement. The ones that you have to stay on top of at all times. The teachers all say, "I had to put XYZ with you, so I didn't have to worry about him, since I know you can handle them." I guess that is a compliment. I also look at it that I am a recess monitor at the school, and I know all the kids, and know what each needs to keep on top of them. Probably the funniest thing that happened yesterday was when the spirited boy come up to me and said, "Oh No, you're going to tame me aren't you?" Needless to so, at one point he sat down in a dinosaur footprint and couldn't get out, he said.."Now you did it and I can't move. Now I really am contained." There is always more than one way to keep track of a kid.

Kids and other things

My littlest can be so cute sometimes. This past week we were having snow flurries here. He was outside in our playyard trying to catch the snow flakes. It was so cute to watch. He would run, stop, grab, then quickly look at his hand to see if he caught it. I was sitting there watching him, unbeknowest to him. He was so cute. Just the awe of a child playing in snow in his own little world.

He has been bugging me to take him out to spend his birthday money, so today we went. He had his 6yr check up today, so after the doctor (an him having to get an immunization) we went to Target. I let him pick whatever he wated to get with his $25 from his great-grandma. So, he picked a Nintendo DS game. Something he could call his own. Now, I am the type of mother who makes the kids help themselves to help teach them manners and approp store behavior. With that being said, since this was his purchase, and the games are behind locked doors, he had to ask the store employee polietly that he needed help as he wanted to buy a game. It was so cute, as he goes up to the Target employee and says, "Excuse me, could you please help me? I would like to buy a DS game. Could you please unlock the doors so that I may buy it?" How precious is that? A 6 yr old? Of course he thanked the employee for helping him. I tell you, it is never too young to teach good manners.

My oldest is having a real rough time right now. He is really missing his grandpa. With the death of Zac, it just brought up a new flood of emotions. Can I tell you how lucky I am to be able to send my kids to private school? A school that has full time counslers, how great is that? I'm not talking about guidence counslers, but full time christian Liscensed counslers that do clinical psychology. It has been a real blessing. Not to mention, a staff that truely cares about all aspects of a child (physical, emotional, and spiritual). The great part is that there are good male influences at the school too, something that is very important for me, being a single mom. Sometimes a 10yr old boy just doesn't want to talk to a "girl", even if it is mom.

Well, I've decided to contract out the last little part of the bathroom. I just need it done before I have my ankle surgery in a couple of weeks, and just don't have the time right now. So, by Thursday next week, it will all be done, except for the painting (I refuse to pay someone to paint, especially when you are talking only 300 sq feet total-including the ceiling). I can't wait.

Well, enough rambling for now.

Zac Update

Here is a picture of Zac playing soccer. Zac is in the blue jersey.


I just recieved word from the school's principle that Zac passed away earlier this evening. Please continue to pray for all the students at the school. Many of his classmates have been going to school with him since Kindergarten. Also, please pray for his mom and sister, as well as his other family members. I know that through God eveyone will be able to get through this, but we just need to keep our eyes to Him.

Arts Festival

My kid's school has an art festival every year. Every year, my girls do something for the festival. This year was no exception. The photos are of my girl's submissions, yes, they both one first place in their category. Way to go girls!!


A handbag made from weaving ribbons, made by Lizzy (my understanding, everyone wanted to take it home for themselves)

A small purse made from clay over a tin container, made by Michelle

Things are getting better with Zac

Here is the latest info I have on Zac. He is still very ill, and needs as many prayers as possible.

We wanted to let you know that the Doctors have decided that the Plasma Exchange that they performed on Zac yesterday made enough of an improvement that they are willing to do the procedure again today. This is an answer to prayer! We are praising God here at MACA.

Please continue to pray for Zac and for his numbers and stats to continue to rise. Please pray for him to continue to have improvement. Continue to pray for his family.

Thank you for interceding for Zac and his family. I will continue to update you as I receive more information.

Praise

The Lord is good!

The Doctors performed a procedure today on Zac called a Plasma Exchange. The positive news is that Zac survived the procedure. At this point, the prayer for Zac needs to be that his numbers will begin to rise. Please continue to pray for Zac and for his family. We will continue to update you tomorrow as I recieve them via email. Please continue to pray.

Prayer update

I just recieved this update in my email. Please continue to pray.

We just received news that the Doctors would like to try a plasma exchange on Zach. They were able to offer the family hope should his body respond to the procedure. The exchange will be beginning momentarily, and will take 2 hours.

Please Pray

I am writing for a request of prayer. A young man, 10th grader, at my children's school has become very ill. Currently he is in the ICU at John's Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Apparently he is not doing well at all, and things are looking very grave. He became ill over this past weekend. I am asking for your prayers for God to intercede and lay his healing hand upon this young man. Also to pray for the family and for fellow students at the school. The school is fairly small, and everyone knows everyone. So please keep Zach, his family, and MACA in your prayers.

Feb 18, 2003-Six Years Ago

Six years ago, up here in the North East, we were all digging out in what will be known from here on out as the President's Day Storm of 2003. In the Baltimore region, it will go down in the history books as the largest snow storm in history. We were digging out of 28+ inches of the fluffy white. For me, it will always have a special place in my heart. I was 9 months pregnant, scheduled for a c-section on Feb 17, but had to cancel the c-section because the doctor could not make it to the hospital. I laughed at him when he called, because I did not have a problem getting to the hospital. Being 9 months pregnant, my ex-husband spent every minute of the storm outside, making sure the driveway was clear. Kinda important, just in case I went into labor (never mind that I had 2 nurses in the house, one who worked OB, the other who worked ER). If anything happened, I knew that we would manage. Sure, I could deliver at home if I really had to. My doctor finally made it into the hospital and asked if I wanted to come the next day, being as uncomfortable as a 9month pregnant woman is, I jumped at the chance to welcome my new baby into this Arctic tundra.

We work early, and my dad drove me the 30 miles to the hospital. Cars stuck in ditches and half covered in snow. My dad, having grown up in North Western Colorado and with his 4 wheel drive, slowly trudged forward. We arrive at the hospital for the scheduled c-section. The hospital personnel thought that we were nuts not for waiting a few more days, but we were ready. Shortly after 9am in the morning, my youngest son, Daniel Jackson, was welcomed into this world. Weighing 8lbs 2oz and a mere 21.5inches long. Today, he is a short (ha ha) 4 ft 4 inches and weighs 66lbs. It is so hard to believe that six years ago right now, he was still in my belly. It is amazing to watch him grow everyday; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Danny, I love you, and have a Great Birthday!!

Sickness

Okay, now I am really tired of this all. On Tuesday night my twins got sick. It's now Friday, and they are still sick. Last night, twin #2 had a fever of 103.2. Today she is on the mend, but still sick. At least she was well enough to do her make-up school work. We have been working on it for the last 2 hours, and, all she has left is to write her spelling words in her homework notebook. Twin #1 on the other hand, is still slumped in the bed sleeping. At least it seems as though the puking may have finally stopped. Just fevers are left. Hopefully today, twin #2 will be able to eat something. I know that it is going around the school really bad(in the girls' class, of the 21 students only 9 were there yesterday). Luckily, I am able to get fluids into them. Of course, it has not escaped the littlest one. Today, he woke with the fever. Hopefully, that will be the only part of the sickness he will get. I know their dad will be upset, since he was sick last weekend too. He always complains that the kids get sick a lot, he doesn't see the fact that last year twin #1 only went to the doctor 1 time, and twin #2 went twice, granted, I only take them when they have been sick for more than 3 days. I tell you what, I am so sick and tired of all this sickness. I wish the weather would be good enough for long enough to open all the windows and air this place out completely, but that will be yet another couple of weeks. OH FUN.

Works For Me

I hate to sort socks. Maybe because I have so many socks. What works for me is to hang them up outside on the line. The nice thing about this, is that you sort and pair as you hang. It might take longer to hang them this way, but once they are paired and dried, you just fold and you are done.
In case you are counting, it's only 67 pairs this time around.

For more great tips, go see Shannon's blog at Rocks In My Dryer

Wednesday Woes

At 4:30am today, I was awaken to kids talking. I get up to find that twin #1 was puking. Luckily it was in the bathroom toilet. Both girls were crying and moaning. I feel the heads of both, ouch-that's hot, fevers for both. I send them back to bed. We get up at 6:30 to get the boys ready for school. Girls wake and start twin #2 starts puking and fevers continue so I given them both some Motrin. I send them back to bed, take the boys to school, and I come home to find both girls watching TV in the spare bedroom. They look so much better, boy am I glad. Hopefully, they will be back to normal tomorrow. I guess that's what I get for sending the kids outside yesterday to play, and I thought that it would be good for them to get fresh air.

I'll tell you, if it's not one thing, it's a dozen.

Ankle Update, and Tuesday Kid Antics

Well, I just got back from the doctor, and I need surgery. I need to have the ankle joint cleaned up, as I have a bone fragment in the joint. I then need to have a ligament transfer. My ankle joint is very weak, and without the transfer I will continue to have problems. So, I will get the transfer. The doc said that I will be in a cast at least 10 days, then a walking cast for 6 weeks, then physical therapy.

Onto the kids antics. I have 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. As any mom of boys will tell you, they like to rough house. My boys are no different. Well, this morning as we were getting ready to head out the door to school my boys were rough housing around the back door. All of a sudden I hear glass breaking. I run to the boys to find that boy #2 had pushed boy #1 into the glass pane on the door. Well, no more glass plane. Luckily, no one was hurt, except for boy #2 started crying....more scared than anything. Maybe now they will understand why I tell them not to rough house near the doors (mind you, I have french doors throughout the house). I just finished removing the wood trim that held the glass in place. Now I have to measure out the hole and go get another pane and reinstall the wood trim. Luckily, I do know how to fix this little mishap. Boys will be boys. No one hurt. Maybe a little lesson will be learned. Gotta look on the bright side of things. Life with kids is never boring.

Typical Day in My Life

Mondays around here are always a bit nutty, today was no exception. The kids go to their dad's on the weekends, and they are always exhausted when they come home, so getting them up is always a bit of a challenge. Up and adam at 6:30am. Lunches packed, backpacks ready to go and out the door at 7:45am to be at the school at 7:55am. Then me and the youngest head off to Starbucks for our morning coffee. Mind you, I have to call into work for report at 8am. So, while listening/leaving report I am in line waiting for my Venti Caramel Macc, no foam, extra caramel, with whip and kids hot chocolate and vanilla scone for gumba. Then back home for a couple of minutes until the bus arrives at 8:45am for gumba. Today, I then got a call from the school nurse where my oldest 3 attend. She was sick and needed to go home and she wanted to know if I could come and sub for her starting at 10am. So I quickly wrapped a package that I wanted to get into the mail for my mom and then off to the post office. Boy, was it busy in there. I arrived at the school at 10am to start my other job as a school nurse. It's kinda neat that I can help out the school that way. I enjoy the ability to be closely involved in the school. I can't wait until next year when all 4 will be going to the same school and I can be a substitute more often. That's another subject all together. There are quite a few illnesses going around the school, so I was quite busy all day with complaints of headaches, sore throats, dry scratchy coughs. I think I saw 40+ kids from 10am until 3pm. For a school that only has 350 students in grades K-11, that's quite a lot. I then got the kids at 3pm, back in the care at 3:15pm and home by 3:30pm, just in time to get the youngest off the bus at 3:45. I then had to run the the grocery store to get dinner. We decided on Linguine and shrimp in a butter garlic sauce. Quite simple to make, and so good. We get home, and I then proceed to help my girls get ready for their spelling test for tomorrow. It is now 7:30pm and they are just now almost finished. Luckily, that was their only homework. My oldest had to write out note cards for his research project, so he did that, while I tested my twins. By 5pm I am starting to make dinner. We ate at 5:45pm. Dishes done, laundry in the wash, spelling finally done! Now, only 15 more minutes before kiddos off to bed. They go to bed at 8pm, but they also have to get up at 6:30am. I think that is a very approp time. Plus, it enables me to have alone time to decompress prior to going to bed. Yes, this is a typical day for me during the week. Mind you, I don't always substitute at the school, but on Monday and Friday I usually do work at the school covering recess duty.
Please be thinking about me tomorrow, I finally find out what is wrong with my ankle. Had my MRI on Sat, and my appointment is tomorrow at 10am. I'm anxious to find out, but scared.

Ankle Woes and Other Nonsense.

Looks like my ankle problems might be worse that I thought. Went to the orthopedic today and he wants me to go get a MRI of the ankle to see what's really happening. He suspects that I have a tibia tendon tear. Now I am in a walking cast, and scheduled for an MRI on Saturday bright and early at 7am. Only have to wake up at 5:30 to be there on time. Just called work and told them that I can't work between 6am and 8:30am. Not a bad job, considering I can call and just take off for 2.5 hrs, then back to work. My fear though is that I may need surgery to fix the problem. Maybe just resting the ankle will fix the problem....on can hope.

On to other news. Don't you just love winter? Having 50 degree temps in the afternoon, then waking to find a fresh blanket of snow. That's just what happened here the last 2 days. I supplement the heat in my house with firewood. The smell of wood burning, the smoke in the house...gotta love it. The only thing I hate about it is having to carry the wood into the house and carry the ashes out. Back and forth....tedious. But when I can heat a 90 yr old, 3000 sq ft house for $700/yr, can't complain. I would do even better if I added insulation to the attic. When I had a new heating/ac unit installed last year, the install guys remarked how well the house maintains the temp. Gotta love old plaster walls. Speaking of plaster walls, they are wonderful, until you have to repair them. I live on a major road, with tons of traffic everyday. My house sits fairly close to the road too, but you would never know it. The old plaster walls are a great insulator and sound barrier. Have you ever noticed when you are in an old house, how quite it is in the house. They sure don't make houses like that anymore. In today's houses you can hear every little sound. However, with an old house comes repair. Still haven't finished my bathroom, but other things have interfered.....like winter. Enough babbling.

I Heart Faces-The eyes have it

Over at I Heart Faces they have a weekly photo contest. This week is a contest all about the eyes. Here is my adult entry. I choose this picture, not because it is technically good, but there is something about the look in my dad's eyes (or should I say eye). I also love how the focus is just on my dad, and not the typical focal of twin #1. This picture is especially poignant since my dad's passing in December.

Please go over to I Heart Faces to see other entries, or add your own, it's fun.