Category Archives: general

Poor l’il Noah got sick during the night last night.  There has been a stomach virus making the rounds around these parts lately and it seems we’ve finally got it.  I’m certainly hoping Noah doesn’t pass it on to his siblings, but from my experience as a mom I know these things are usually crazy contagious.  Yuck. 

To top it off, we’ve just finished reading the chapter in Charlottes Web  that describes in detail the rotten garbage that entices Tempelton to go to the County Fair.  Nice.

Man behind me at the check-out today:  What have you got at home…a football team or something?

Me:  No…just a basketball team.

There s/he is!  Little Horsman number five.  Number FIVE.  I’m gonna have five kids.

I’m due in just four weeks and I’m not prepared at all for this little ones arrival.  Until about a week ago, before I picked up a new package of Onsies at Walmart, this baby didn’t even have a stitch of clothing to it’s name.  (And we’re still looking to borrow an infant carseat, if you’ve got one to lend. )  Oh well…I’m sure s/he will survive somehow.

What do you think number five will be?  You can enter your guess, along with a guess on the weight, legnth and due date by clicking on the box below.  We played a little guessing game like this before Phoebe was born and I said, jokingly, that the winner could name our fifth.  Ha!  No such jokes this time.

Wow…the summer is flying by!  Summer vacation has been really perfect so far, I have to say.  Even the weather has been amazing…in a pregnant lady’s opinion.  Cool and breezy, for the most part.  I love it.

Pictures, I think, are the way to go for now, since I would have no idea where to start to tell you of all the fun we’ve been having as a family.  Every day is an adventure!

Zeke’s new toothless grin.

Elijah is all of a sudden Mr. Athletic this summer.  This totally took me by surprise.  Up until this summer, he was usually the kid sitting under a tree with a pen and paper writing comics while the other kids ran around. 

Best Friends.

Noah’s in the rebellious, “I’m only doing funny faces for the camera” stage. 

Phoebe feels she has to try out just about every slide she sees.  Her keen eyes see one every time we take a trip in our car.  “I see a slide, Mummy!  I see a slide”  So we’ve been to many different parks this summer.  I refuse to return to the one where Noah broke his wrist though. 

Monkeys. 

We’re doing some practice homeschooling for the next few weeks, in an effort to both get a head start and establish a schedule before our September baby comes.  It seems crazy that I’ve picked this fall to start homeschooling when our new baby’s arrival coincides exactly with the beginning of school.  Ironically, though, I’ve never felt more ready to do this.  I feel like I’ve been given an extra measure of faith and I’m asking the Lord for an extra measure of His Grace to be present in our home as we venture out into this craziness.

I plan on sharing more of my thoughts and how we’ve scheduled out a homeschooling day in an upcoming post…soon…hopefully.  (As we work out our schedule for this fall, I’m thinking I’ll need to schedule blogging or else it just won’t happen!)

Well, here we are nearing the end of May already! As I sit out on our deck writing this, our friendly, neighborhood, maintenance guy keeps zooming by in his little golf cart servicing all the AC units in our apartment building…and he’s not a moment too soon! It got up to 90 here yesterday and it feels even hotter today. I hope he comes and gets our AC running next.  So does the rest of the family too, I think.  Nobody likes a hot pregnant lady. 

Everything is running along smoothly here.  The boys finish school in just a few weeks…as of today I’m 24 weeks pregnant (!)…Phoebe’s girly side manifests itself more and more each day (not to mention her mad language skills.  females really are the more verbal of the sexes.)  Noah is enjoying spring like only a four-year-old boy can.  This afternoon he captured a little inchworm and was pretty excited when it started munching on the leaves he put in the jar.  (speaking of “munch,”  Noah met a little boy at a park yesterday named Robert and wouldn’t stop calling him “Robert Munsch.”  Hee hee.  …Oh! also, Zeke’s class at school had a story written about them by Robert Munsch!  Zeke’s name appeared four times in the story.  So exciting. This then inspired Elijah to wirte a long letter to Mr. Munsch imploring him to write him into a story…we’ll see what happens.)

Anyway…so ends this very random blog.  Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.  Here’s a little taste of what summer is all about in a house with three boys…

Dirty boys – and actually, Phoebe loves to get dirty too! – which means lots of baths…which means a perpetually dirty bathroom.

P.P.S.  The fix-it man just stopped by!  AC is on it’s way!

Hello all! Here for my weekly check-in… Last week, actually, began with a firm resolve to do a few solid blog entries, but… I had an unexpected visitor show up early Wednesday morning.

A kidney stone. Yeah. After a few hours of excruciating, transitional-phase-of-labor-esque pain, and uncontrollable vomiting in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, I finally admitted defeat, made a few phone calls (well, actually, Dave made them for the above stated reasons) and soon found myself in the Family Birth Center at Methodist Hospital. Much to my relief, it didn’t take long for the OB doctor to conclude that the baby was doing great and I was not in preterm labor. (She even made an early prediction that I had another 9-pounder in utero…was there ever any doubt?) It took much longer, though, to diagnose the kidney stone, but eventually the mystery was solved and the little monster finally passed out of my urinary tract on Saturday morning. Phewf!

I’ll spare you anymore of the gruesome details and instead just confirm what I’ve heard about passing kidney stones: it is indeed very much like going through labor. Worse, actually, in my opinion. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy!

Uh…Mummy, could you pretend that you’re really, really scared of me?

Just a second, Noah, I’m cleaning the pee off of the toilet seat that somebody left there.

I wasn’t me!  …It was Phoebe.

Nice try, Kiddo.

P.S.  It’s National TV Turn Off Week this week so I’ll be off the computer for the next seven days.  See you next Monday.

Well, sorry, but our very capricious Internet connection isn’t being very helpful today.  I’m not able to post that after photo of the haircuts.  Bummer!  Hopefully things will be back to normal by tomorrow…

It’s a delightful day here though!  Phoebe, Noah and I just got back in from a walk in the warm sunshine.  We built dams in the runoff, avoided housework, listened to birds singing, avoided housework, splashed in puddles…reflected on how a crow’s caw kind of sounds like the sound a monkey makes…  Noah pointed this out and, I must say, it really does!  Imagine living almost 32 years and never noticing such a thing!

Phoebe summed up best, I think, how it felt to be lazily strolling around outside this morning.  As she took big strides and swung her arms vigorously, she said in a sing-song voice, “A-happy, happy, happy!…A-happy, happy, happy!”

I encourage you all to take a few seconds to sign the petition against the Freedom of Choice Act which our new president elect has promised to sign.  Just click on the image to the right to let your voice be heard.  Let others know about it too!

Here’s a must read before the elections next Tuesday.  If you can’t reconcile the idea of these elections coming down to one issue – abortion – this letter may change your mind.  Wow, it’s powerful!