I Got my Baby Back Baby Back Baby Back....

Hey Ya'll!! Ella is feeling better and Daddy is home...this all = a very happy mommy!!!
It took Ella almost a week to get over what she had. I think Friday night she started to perk up and be more like herself! I am glad....I have never had a baby sick that little with the pukes and it was muy difficult!!! She wanted to be held literally 24/7 and was irritated when the other kids cried...when the other kids made too much noise...or basically when I moved at all! I am feeling a lot more freedom and to Keith's joy....currently not wanting any more kids anymore! :) It was really wearing on me! It was one of those times that it's hard to see the end and you lose major hope that life will ever return to "normal" again! Well anyway...the weekend here was pretty uneventful. Friday night I had a food auction that ended at 930 rather than 11! I was thrilled! I got to come home and spend some time with my husband who I hadn't really seen for a week! Sat...it was cold, windy, rainy and gray....so Keith and I decided to put all the outside stuff away for the winter and clean out the garage! We got it done...with one watching kids and the other cleaning/organizing ..switching back and forth..the garage is now beautifully organized and clean as well as the back shed being packed full for the winter...YAYYY!!!! We went out to supper on Sat night with Keith's mom and dad....it's alway nice to have people to go out to eat with who love us despite our faults and our loud and sometimes difficult children! We love to hang out with our parents because of just this..we can relax and have adult conversation and are able to "enjoy" our kids at the same time! Thanks to our mom's and dad's I only hope I am as good of a grandparent as you guys all are! On Sunday we went to church...which we have not been to our church in about a month so it was good to be back....the rest of the day we just kinda relaxed and enjoyed eachother! So, that was the weekend.
Yesterday, Lucy had her "Help Me Grow" appointment which is a free screening done by the county to see if Lucy is delayed in Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Hearing, Vision and Speech. We have had some concerns about Lucy's speech and Gross Motor because of her eye issues. Dr Welter the opthamologist said that she may be slightly delayed in these other areas because she has to work so hard to see, and we had noticed especially the speech delay...although in the three weeks between filling out the mountain of paperwork that needs to be done for this testing and her actually having the test...her speech has greatly improved. Well...I have positives and negatives about the experience so here goes my vent.....
When we arrived...not knowing what to expect we were escorted to the hallway where Lucy was weighed and measured. Then we were sent to see the first therapist who did the Fine and Gross motor. When I walked into the room with Lucy I was trying to be positive and I said hello and brought Lucy over to the table and sat her next to the woman (who looked rather cross) anyway so then I pulled out a chair some distance away from them and I said to the woman...."do I just sit here then?"....the woman very rudely responded..." You can just sit out in hall!" I responded..."I'm sorry, I am new at this" with a smile and quickly exited as not to "upset" her. Anyway...once I got out in the hall the workers who were out there stated in shocked voices that they were surprised I was able to leave Lucy and she was ok....I said "Well the woman said I needed to just come and sit in the hall" they were very surprised but apologized for her and said..."All the therapists are different I guess".....therefore....Lucy did her entire Gross and Fine motor testing without me....and later I came to find out that the individual therapists did not read my notes on Lucy so they didn't know she couldn't see right....therefore...where as with me at home...given some time for her eyes to focus....Lucy could do the fine motor stuff....with the crotchedy old cranky woman (excuse the name....I'm frustrated) she couldn't do any of it and failed both fine and gross miserably. I was so frustrated! I knew she was behind with gross motor....because of her eyes...but given time...I knew she could do the fine motor...HOW FRUSTRATING!!!! But anyway...I was rudely excused from the therapy session so I couldn't explain any of this and the judgement was passed. Lucy amazingly did excellent in the speech session! She soared through many of the words and syllabels she is suppose to be saying. She is slightly delayed in speech because by the time a child is three they like to see the child using the "f" sound and she does not...but the speech therapist...who happens to be a friend of the family stated that it wouldn't take much for Lucy to get that worked out! So....her first therapist was a negative experience and her second...was very positive....then came the exit interview....now this woman was the only person who read my numerous notes and studied the tests that I had given Lucy at home...she knew the background....but unfortunetly read into a lot of it too much!!! She saw things like....rarely eats something that is not food....drools occasionally.....chokes occasionally...and occasionally is slightly delayed in response to a question...but eventually and a lot of times in discipline scenarios...will eventually fully respond....and oh....the biggest....she read that Lucy has a first cousin who's autistic...and the assumption was made that Lucy had "social" issues and needed to be put into a preschool...4 MORNINGS A WEEK.....because she had trouble socializing with others....WHAT!!!!! Lucy is soooooo incredibly social!! She'll talk to anyone.....Occupational therapy needed....yes definetly...Speech therapy needed....yes definetly but a preschool????WHAT!!! Anyway she stated that Lucy would get the therapy on 1 day of the week at the preschool but then the other days she would have a real chance to interact with other kids...I was like...UHMMMMMM she interacts with other kids fine in dance class, in Sunday school.....at home with her siblings...with cousins...etc.....!!! I by no means think she needs socialization! Does her occasional drooling and occasional choking upset me and is it a concern....yes will it be improved by simple therapy with the occupational/speech therapist....most likely YES! I inquired as to if she could just get the therapy and not go to the preschool (FYI-the speech therapist...who also had stood with me in the hall and seen Lucy on the Gross Motor testing said that she thought Lucy was great at communication and social issues and would only need some help with her "f" sound) anyway the woman said reluctantly that yes she could just get therapy and not have to go to the preschool....I was relieved but frustrated seeing as though this woman was taking what I had written to the extreme! How frustrating! Anyway we are scheduled for a follow up on Nov 17th for Lucy to see an actual occupational therapist and see Kathy again to re-evaluate her speech...then from there I can set up therapist appointments and in the mean time...work on my own with Lucy !! So anyway...I am not in complete denial...I know Lucy has some issues....and I know partly why....a lot of it has to do with her eyes....it takes her time to do things ....to focus and to trust because her eyes play tricks on her.....I know she needs therapy but these women made me kinda upset (as you can easily see) with there "assumptions" based on events that I seldom if ever see....events that any "normal" child ( a friend of mine has a 5 year old that occasionally still drools and is incredibly intellegent)without eye problems might have! Oh well.....I need to stop the rage....I guess that's my venting on the issue.....
Great news.....Lucy is pretty much going peepee on the potty all the time and occasionally goes number 2...for all you non mothers that's probably more than you want to know...but it is a huge relief to me and Keith.....we are only weeks away from cutting the diaper bill in half!!! YAY!!!

Birthday Bummer

So....I have joined the 29 forever club....the occasion was Sunday and let me tell you it was painful....not because I was turning 30....which was difficult in itself anyway and not because Sunday's weather was bad....no it was cold but beautiful....no the reason my birthday was a bummer was that my husband was in North Carolina and 5 minutes after he left Ella came down with the puke flu....so today is Tuesday....Keith's still gone....Ella still has the flu....and my life pretty much stinks right now....I'm trying to be positive...though it doesn't look like it...but anyway I am.....it just seems that every time Keith goes on a trip of some sort or another one of our kids is puking....and I hate puking and don't handle it very well....and here I am ....alone again to handle it....luckily the last few days I've had the help of my mom's....I don't know what I would do without them....three kids and the puke flu....Ella not sleeping AT ALL....therefore mommy not sleeping AT ALL....makes for some pretty hard days....I love my mom in love though because she stayed last night and the night before to handle the other two kids! So my actual birthday was pretty wrotten....Do you think I could get a do-over to really have a day to truely morn the loss of my 20's ? :) Ya I know pathetic....a positive note is that Keith and I are now in the same decade....that only comes around every 7 years so it's pretty rare :)....

Keith did take me out for my birthday on Friday before he left....he let me go on a shopping spree which he never does and I found out through much trying on that I am now in size 4 jeans!!! WOW>>>>I am really shocked.....but that was a nice birthday present...too bad I'll probably not maintain that weight but, although to the outside world I appear thin I always judge myself harshly....as all women do and it's nice to feel thin again! Ok...so that 's all Hope everyone is weller than we are!

Hopefully you can all see Kung Fu Gideon!!

Silly Scarecrow Day

This is how Gideon went to school today! Hilarious!!

Busy Weekend=Exaustion

This weekend, though incredibly fun, completely wore me out! That and the girls haven't been sleeping well lately! We had a great week last week with Gideon meeting the sheriff on Wed. at preschool and learning all sorts of self defense moves to use on a stranger. I couldn't believe they actually taught him moves but he came home with all of these things to do if a stranger grabs your hand or trys to take you ....I must say I was really glad they taught him that....it makes a mother of a incredibly social child more at ease to know he now understands that not everyone out there can be trusted and we must be careful! Anyway he also got to ride in the sheriff car and got a junior deputy badge which he wore for about 3 days straight! On Friday he got to have a camp out at school and play in a tent, roast mallow's and sing camp songs...man I wish I was in preschool! This week he meets an ambulance driver and gets to ride in the back of it and he also has dress like a silly scarecrow on Wednesday and is having a harvest party! He gets to do so much fun stuff...I'm jeolous!
The weekend was really great we met up with Aunt Jean, Uncle Doug, Kelli, Marc, Andrew, AJ, Uncle Jay, Aunt Les, Jacob and Josh at Grammy and Papa's house and went on a treasure hunt, carved pumpkins, made caramel apples and went on the flying squirrel again...we ended the evening with trick or treat through the camp grounds and a hot dog roast! It was a great weekend the kids were wiped out on Sunday evening! I'll get some pictures and maybe some video of the events eventually....I'm really failing at the camera thing!
Anyway this week was filled with lots of news too! Some bad...some awesome...The good news is that my older brother called and they are pregnant with #2! That is really exciting! More cousins for the kids....Gideon is already hoping it's a boy! That make 2 new cousins this winter with Drew and Melinda due in Feb and Brad and Jana in March! The family is expanding by another 4 feet!!
The bad news of the week is that Keith's cousin Cody....who's only 19 was diagnosed with stage 3 Melanoma. They did surgery to remove a spot on his back but it is in most of his lymph nodes so that's not a great thing. He is going to be placed on a chemo-pill that will make him really sick, but will hopefully work. Keith's aunt and uncle have gone through a lot with 3 of their 4 children's familys hit with cancer in the last few years....all young ...please pray if you think about it! I am sure they feel much like Job at this time! Satan is attacking and they need the strength and the power that only God can give to fight this!
Hope everyone is well! Love to all!

Butchering Day

By all means click on the picture if you can and enlarge it! The kids faces are hilarious and totally expressive of how they acted. Yes...poor little chicky had to die a week early. He couldn't stand up anymore because....as the nurse in my mother diagnosed....he had hip displasia or something the matter with his hips. Anyway he couldn't really walk very well without falling down and so he had to die early. Keith wanted to help and although I had an auction and couldn't be there for the blessed event here is what I have been told....and it sounds like it was hilarious. I dropped Gid, Lucy and Ella off early because I had an auction to go to. Before I left Gideon "read the chicken his last rights" by feeding him his last meal and giving him a little pet...Lucy fluffed his feathers a bit just to make him look nice for his "showing". Then, Nani, Gideon and Lucy went downstairs to prepare the "chopping block" and sharpen the ax. I guess Gideon was all about chopping the chickens head off. Keith arrived and they brought the chicken downstairs. Mom put the chickens head between two nails to steady it and it closed its eyes as if preparing for the inevitable. Gideon was ready to use the ax until this point....as soon as the chicken was "in restraints Gideon backed away and turned his head...he couldn't bring himself to do it...although I did learn from him that the chicken died before nani chopped it's head off because it closed it's eyes. Well....off with the head and the body, as usual flapped and fluttered and the head lay still. The kids watched but wouldn't touch or help with the gutting and de-feathering until Nani put the body in the freezer and took them back outside to "clean up". Then.....with the body gone...Gideon and Lucy touched and examined the head of the chicken...looking at its eyes and ears and then examining the chicken feet.....mom had given them an anatomy lesson earlier in the gutting and Keith thought it was pretty cool too. They got to see the gullet and the gizzard and open it up and see the feed the chicken had eaten for it's last meal so Gideon said that was cool. Anyway....Gideon was a little nervous and would only touch the chicken head and feet but Lucy....my child of no fear picked up the head and carried it to the burn bag and then went back for the feet and put them it.....it was a good anatomy and life lesson for the kids and I'm glad they had it but I wish I could've been there because it was probably quite hilarious to see the kids reactions.

Pictures to Follow

This past week and weekend just flew by! It feels like I have been running non-stop only to find myself at Monday again ready to start a new week of running! Last week, on Wednesday Gideon blest me with a horrendous cold(which he had shared with Keith first and then me). It was one of those bad ones that you can't breathe and it hurts to move and you can't taste your food and your nose is sore Yah.....anyway for 5 days I was in pretty much torture, but then Sunday afternoon it started to clear and I began to feel better. Hopefully we are done with it now and the girls don't get it! The preschool handbook said and I quote "Don't be surprised if your family is especially sick this first year of school. The children will bring home and share their virus'" Yipee!! I hope we are done sharing for awhile! Anyway, so, despite feeling horrible we still went to mom's and fed the chickens on Wed and Thurs night and they literally attacked us in the pen! I have fed a lot of chickens in my lifetime but never have I come across such an aggresive bunch! Gideon even got a little scared! We would open the door to the pen and they would come sqauking and pecking at us! They would peck our shoes and ankles until we put the food in the feeders and then all 65 would try and crowd around the same feeder to eat pecking and fighting and smooshing and standing on eachother. So, I decided maybe they needed more food. I gave them more but that didn't seem to do any good. Thursday night they did the same thing! Oh well! Think how exciting it will be when we have to move them to crates to take to the butcher! Fun Fun Fun! Oh well! Anyway Friday was a slow day and I didn't really feel like doing much seeing as how I felt like a truck ran over me so we just stayed at home. Sat morning I went to the quilt shop at the village with mom to pick out some material for quilts I'm going make for the girls room which won't be painted/decorated until next year this time but I think it will take me that long to make these...so I'm starting now!! Sat afternoon we headed to Camp Palmer where they were having a "free fun" day for the community. We got there a little late but still had time for a tractor ride, sliding down the slide and the best of all......"The Flying Squirrel". Gideon and Gramma were the only one's who actually participated but it was fun to watch and I think we're all going to go next weekend because Nancy is going to rent it for a day. Anyway, "The Flying Squirrel" is where you put on a helmet and a full harness and they hook the back of the harness to a rope that hangs over a 20-30 ft high bar and connects to a group of spotters behind you. You say "Spotter's Ready" and they answer "Ready" and then you shout "Running" and you take off running in the opposite direction of the spotters. They pull and you fly up into the air still running until about 20 ft and then they let you down easy. I didn't know if Gideon would do it but Gramma did it first and of course he was in. They hooked him in and he yelled what he needed to yell and then took of running. I told him to pretend he was Peter Pan and think of a happy thought and he would fly and when he got up he spread out his arms like Peter Pan and flew! He was so brave and so funny! It was a blast. Once I get the pictures off keith's cell I'll post them! I can't wait to take my turn next weekend! After that, we went to Gramma's for a hotdog roast with some of their friends. The kids were pretty cranky so we didn't stay long. Gideon kept commenting on " Why were there so many old ladies at Gramma's" I had to get him out of there before they actually heard him!
Sunday we went to church as usual and then Gideon and I went Grocery shopping while Keith took the girls home. It was such a beautiful day when we got home we went on a long bikeride! It was such a nice day I hope we have more before it gets too cold! For supper I made Keith stuffed Jalepeno peppers and spicy buffalo wings (new recipes) and though they were chaotic to make they tasted awesome! Very much a "keeper" recipe! I am thinking about make a batch of the wings for this weekend but we'll see how the week goes! We are kinda busy with Bible Study here tomorrow night and auction and Ella's 9 month appointment the other nights! Hope everyone is doing well and feeling well! Love to all!