I Have Arrived

I had gone to the grocery store, a discounted grocery store in which the customers are in charge of unloading their groceries onto the belt, then bagging their own groceries, then finally loading up their own car and returning the shopping cart to the front of the store. Needless to say, I came home exhausted and hurt from bending.
I came into the house very tired - not looking forward to getting the groceries from the car to the kitchen.
Without me saying anything, Roger ran out to the car and started bringing in the groceries.

 

 After a couple of trips, all of his brothers were helping out. They brought in all of the gallons of milk without dropping any, and amazingly enough they didn't break a single egg!

What a great day when I no longer will need to bring in all of the groceries.

Bribery

Three Jelly Beans.
Doesn't look like much, does it?
To Michael and Roger, this would have been a lot.

A couple of years ago, I started having Michael and Roger unload the dishwasher and they would each get one Jelly Bean, so if I were to show them three, then they would think it was Christmas. My mom use to give me a hard time, saying that I was stingy, but I figured that as long as they were okay with it and still helped really well, it was better for them to not receive as much.

Well, apparently inflation has occurred. Now William and Grant unload the dishwasher, but because Grant is 3 years-old, and is obsessed with the number 3....and because I've become more of a softee, William and Grant each get three jelly beans when they unload the dishwasher.

I have used the Jelly Beans in some other special and rare cases. Grant will usually come into my bed in the middle of the night. It really doesn't bother me when he does this without waking me up, for then I get to wake up with my boy in my arms. Well, since he and William started sleeping together, whenever Grant leaves the bed William will wake up shortly, find himself all alone, become scared, and come into my bed as well. Because of this, one of the boys will surely wake Todd and I up, then there is the concern about space. It doesn't help that both boys desire to be by Mom, so they sandwich me, making me feel like I can't move an inch. To add insult to injury, I always get pregnancy-induced insomnia. So when the boys wake me up, it will cause me to be up for at least an hour, and when you're pregnant you are already tired and uncomfortable enough. It has not helped my functioning level to have my kids waking me up in the middle of the night.

So, I bribed William and Grant. I told them that if they stayed in their beds all night, I would give them 3 Jelly Beans. It took them a couple of nights, but they finally were able to do it, and sure enough they got their reward in the morning. Occasionally they will come into our bed, but the frequency has significantly decreased. Something Todd and I both are very grateful for. 

Play Time or Reality?

Grant informed me that this was me, the little green guy, on the couch.

 The Alien standing next to me is Todd. According to Grant, Dad is just standing next to me.

And these are our kids:

My only concern is that all of my "kids" look exactly like me and are the same size of me.....okay, and I am a little nervous about how many "kids" are in the group.

Sometimes the Early Worm Helps the Late Bird

After being extremely tired, I decided to sleep in. I awoke at 8 AM to Michael bringing in his school book. He had a question, and without me even asking or prompting, he was almost done with his morning writing assignment.
Then, Roger came in with clothes in his hands. He had just made William and Grant's bed and had grabbed clothes for the day for them.
Both Michael and Roger had already made their beds and cleaned their rooms, and they began discussing who GOT to make my bed.
Roger told me he didn't want me to make my own bed for he didn't want me have to bend over and squish Baby Evelyn. Michael told me he didn't want me to make my bed because I already do so much work.
Sometimes it pays to sleep in.

Homeschool Convention

This past weekend we had a family trip. We went to the Midwest Homeschool Convention, and we had a great time.
The convention was in Cincinnati, about a 5 hour drive for us. We left Thursday afternoon after Todd had gotten off of work. Since we would be stopping through Columbus, we planned on going to the temple on our way. When we were pulling off the exit for the temple, Todd and I realized that we had both forgotten our recommends. Thankfully we have some good leaders that can vouch for us.
While I was in the temple, Todd watched the boys on the attached grassy area - the temple is on the same property as a stake center. When I came out the boys were running around having a great time and Todd had a small bleeding hole on his forehead. He had gotten struck by a stick. Boys are wild.
We got into Cincinnati late on Thursday, checked into our hotel and went to bed knowing that we wanted to be up early to get to the convention the next morning.

I had signed the older three boys up for a Children's Conference that was put on through the Convention. They absolutely loved it...well, for the most part. Sometimes when we would pick Roger up in the evening or for lunch, he seemed a little less than happy. But William and Michael talked nonstop about what they were doing. They had some great activities going on and it was well worth the money that we spent to send them. Plus it meant that Todd and I could attend the classes at the convention without toting along 4 boys, instead we only had to bring Grant.
Grant did pretty good, especially since we just went from class to class. There were times he did get frustrated, not wanting to be there anymore, but having treats and an iPod did help him. The best was when he would be watching a Go, Go Diego on his iPod and he would yell out "Jump, Jump, Jump". Besides that, he kept pretty quiet during the classes.
Todd had a good time, and came back a lot more relaxed about our homeschooling. Sometimes he gets nervous about this different lifestyle that we have taken on. I know a lot of that is because it is very new to him and it can be intimidating, especially when you are so use to the school system mind set. It requires him to put a lot of trust in me, that I am teaching our kids sufficiently, and in the Lord, that the inspiration to do this was correct. Honestly, Todd does a wonderful job of being supportive of our lifestyle and I'm not sure if I had married anyone else if they would have been as supportive, but there are times he does get nervous or stressed out by the whole thing.
The convention helped Todd to see that everything is going to be okay. We saw thousands of other homeschooling families, and even though we are all different and our own "homeschooling ways" are as different as we are, we are all trying our best and most are succeeding. He went to a couple of classes given by a guy named Todd Wilson, who is a great speaker and a real, down to earth dad. He talked about being a father in one of the classes and about being a husband in another. He gave some great advice and encouragement that Todd really appreciated.
The convention really helped me, too. It rejuvenated me, it is nice to know that we're not the only ones doing this. Also, it made me feel peaceful and confident with how we are doing. Everyone homeschools differently, and even though I went to a couple of classes where the presenters were very intense with the schoolwork they gave their children, I gained a lot of insights from them, but still feel as though the way we are doing things is working very well for our family, and that our kids are doing great with their schooling and learning.
If I haven't written too much already, I am going to jot down some of the notes and insights I received from the presentation. If you're not interested, just skip now, I will not be offended...plus I will never know. This is just more for me to remember.

Susan Wise Baur (co-author of Well Trained Mind) Teaching Writing
1st grade- Copy sentences every day from good writing (do that with the boys copying scriptures)
2nd grade- Write single sentences from dictation - don't make them come up with their own sentences yet
Step by step instructions- keep it simple
-it's ridiculous to have your 3rd grader doing a big report.

Andrew Pudewa  - The Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing
 He had some great insights, and I thought that they could work in many different areas of teaching rather than just writing.
1- Over correcting
-give suggestions
-writing is more emotional, right or wrong is not really an option
-teach by example, they'll learn the "laws" or rules, but if you try teaching the "laws" or explaining everything to them, they won't learn the specifics
-have them read good writing
2- Withholding help
-independence in a skill is a result of the building of learning and experience
-kids will tell us when they don't need help "I'll do it myself!"
-when we withhold help, we think it will help them, but it doesn't
-treat it like teaching swimming - they have to prove their Independence before we let them on the swim team
-sometimes kids just need a model or example, if we withhold help we are leaving our kids more confused
-withholding help originated in the public education for it was a way to level the playing field for kids whose parents were/weren't involved
3- Unclear Assignments
-they need/want to know what is expected
-there are fewer unmet expectations because the expectations are put out in the front
4- Over Expectations
-some things/concepts just "click", can't be forced, have faith and don't get frustrated
-most of our over expectations comes from comparing our children to other children based on age - this is not fair, everyone learns and matures differently and in different areas
-compare them only to themselves - are they making progress
-if really frustrated, think about where they were a year ago

Amanda Bennett  - Top 10 Tips for Successful Homeschooling
Keep perspective of WHY I am homeschooling and what success in homeschooling looks like
Reality in Early Years - not all sunny days, everyone has good and bad days
-Prepare for the Evening - develop a pattern of preparation of the evening and when dad comes home, have the house clean up, kids settled down, table set
-Make time for yourself- find something that recharges you - (running)
- Every Child is Different - Don't compare your children to each other or any other kid


Carol Burton - Help Struggling Reader Become a Great Reader
-Goal of reading is to make sense of words
-everything in front of the first vowel is the beginning sound/blend
-to know how to help struggling readers, we need to know what good readers do (their strategies)

Reading Strategies (What Good Readers do):
1- Always go left to right: through each word/across each line of print/page to page/ with letters
2- Match word for word (one to one), using finger and then eye
3- It always has to make sense
4- It always has to sound right
5- Stop at an error, and fix it (or at least try)
6- Re-read after a problem when needed, reread the sentence or phrase
7- If you know the word, say it right away
8- On unknown words, don't just stop. Always go left to right, start with first sound, then second sounds while trying to think what would make sense (an educated guess)
9- Go all the way through the word and match sounds to letters. Check yourself
10- Connect words into phrases, just like you talk
11- Read with expression
12- Read the punctuation correctly (.?!"")
13- Make some comments about the story...questions/predictions/observations/ connections to other books, self, world

-each time we read, praise for 3-4 strategies that they did well, then teach 1 that they did not do
-if having a struggling reader, get out 1st grade reading level material and hit the strategies really hard


Monica Irvine - The Etiquette Factory
-don't excuse your children from impolite behavior (like shyness) it will hinder them
-don't correct your child in front of others, it embarrasses them
-correct them in private, not even in front of siblings

Sincere Apologies:
1- Acknowledge that a wrong took place
-everyone needs to be accountable to what they did
2- Admit the wrong without excuses - doesn't matter what "Sally" did to them
3- Verbalize our apology
4- Commit to better behavior -"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I will try to not yell at you"
5- Keep your word

-sometimes a cool off period is needed before the apology takes place
-once forgiven, move on, don't rub in each other's faces
-when a person isolates their own behavior (not focus on the entire situation) it allows them to understand what they did wrong

Accepting the word "no" graciously
-we need to teach them how to respond appropriately
-when our kids keep on asking after receiving a "no", it's like them saying, "I don't respect your answer and I do not accept it"

Andrew Pudewa - Teaching Boys and Other Children Who would Rather Make Forts
-boys are very different from girls, biology even proves that
-you have to teach louder when teaching boys
-girls draw pictures of nouns (horses, dogs), boys draw pictures of verbs (explosions, racing) -nouns just look better, so no comparing them
-some boys think better (or handle stress better) while standing, don't force them to sit while learning
-Pain causes
         -increase of blood to brain for boys (think more clearly, it's why they're the hunters)
         -decrease of blood to brain for girls (thinking gets fuzzy, it's why we will continue having children, because women forget about the painful experience) - why you should never spank a girl

Relevancy - when something is applicable to you, it's a lot easier to learn
-4 forms of Relevancy

1-Intrinsic Relevancy - innate drawing to something, ex. boys and swords
-capitalize our kids learning on their intrinsic relevancy
--what they learn is not as important as HOW they learn, it helps their cognitive development
2-Inspired Relevancy - being inspired by someone else's love and enthusiasm of something
-teach things that you love, find someone (husband, friend, etc) to teach the things you don't love but that they do
3-Contrived Relevancy - things that are not interesting to you, but you have to learn it
4-Enforced Relevancy - get negative consequences if you don't learn or do things
-bulimic learning, purge and learn what you need for the test/course, take the test, throw up onto the paper what you know, and never learn/think about what you learned
-forced appearance of learning, but it's not really learning

3 Laws of Motivation
1-Children like to do what they think they can do
2- Children want to do what they think they can do
3- Children hate/refuse to do what they believe they cannot do

Budget their time so that 60-80% of the time, children are doing what they like (#1) to do and get better at it (math, science, reading, etc)
-20-40% of the time doing what they want (#2)
and very little time doing #3 - it creates very highly motivated learners and people

-make sure to have a full bank account with your kids, don't correct them more than you praise them
-when you praise your child, when you confirm your love for them, only then are they teachable
-be unconditionally loving, supportive, enthusiastic to your children - everyday

Dr. Susan Wise Baur - Homeschooling the REAL child
1-Diagnose the Problem
A) Is it Me
-do I have realistic expectations
-do I have a daily plan - kids like to know that the plan is
-have I forgotten that my child is a human being and not just a task
-ask "why am I so frustrated"
B) Look beyond the symptoms and understand the child
-what is the underlying disposition of the child and is that disposition being met
-if a child is fighting a curriculum or text, pitch it. it's not what they like or learn well from
2-Strategies
A)"Nibbled to Death by Ducks"
 -don't do too much, for the learning will cease, instead have them "nibble" the information
-turn off your internal panic voice, your child will learn, it may be slower at the moment
B) System of Rewards
-learning is not the place to focus on your kids doing something that they don't want to do - "sometimes we just need to do hard things" - save that for housework or other aspects
C) Drop the difficulty level, increase the time
-helps them develop the skill that was learned with holes in it
D) Parent-Child Contract
-gives the self-motivated child more control of their life
- as long as they do their work, you agree not to hound them on it - for a little older child
E) Three Way Teaching - Hear, Feel, See
-reading is not the only way of learning, bring in the other senses
F) Set a timer
-none of us really understand how much time is passing at a given moment
-introduce a timer to help them understand how much time they spend
-kids have their own natural pace, timers will not increase their natural pace, but will cut down on bathroom breaks, looking out windows, etc.
-they have to be able to see the timer
-don't give punishments for not finishing before the timer goes off, instead give rewards, like extra free time
G) Block Scheduling - great for a single minded person
-allow them to do only one subject a day, they don't have to do switch and do every subject every day
H) The Written Checklist
-allows them to see what is expected of them
I) Let Them Choose their Own Curriculum
-older child - can give them parameters, but they will be more motivated if they choose their own curriculum
J) Step Out of Time
 - not confined by the same schedule that public schools are, do what works for your child
K)Don't go Global - don't blow the problem out of perspective


Crystal Paine - I'd Throw in the Towel....If I Could Find a Clean One
15 Ways to go from an unhappy mom to a happy mom
1- Make your relationship with the Lord your #1 priority
-pray, read scriptures, everyday
2- Make your marriage your #2 priority
-flirt, do things (even if it means nothing) together
3- Get up before your children get up
-even 15 minutes can be an advantage
-get up behind them, you will be behind all day (go to bed by 10:30)
4-Set Goals
-live your life intentionally
-goals give us purpose and momentum
-make yearly, monthly, weekly goals
-1-2 goals a week
5- Develop a routine that works for you
-start with a morning routine
-keep it simple and flexible
6- Train kids to help with chores
-clearly communicate (and demonstrate) what is expected
-don't expect them to do it perfectly
-follow up
-praise 10x more than correct
--you are not managing an inconvenience, you are dealing with a human being
7- Implement an afternoon quiet time
8- Fill your mind with Good things
-read good books
-have book baskets for your kids to read while you read your own books, they will follow your example of loving books
9- Make your health a priority
-sleep, eat right, exercise
10- Make time for things I love
-make a list of things that I enjoy, that energize me
-include 2-3 things from my list every week
11- Focus on one habit at a time
-make a list of habits/areas I want to work on (me, homeschooling, character developments, etc)
-prioritize list
-pick one habit and work on for 3-6 weeks
 12- Consider hiring help
-rather pay x amount of dollars to have someone clean your floors rather than x amount of dollars to have someone teach your kids while you clean your floors
13- Don't compare yourself to other people
-don't beat yourself up over what you can't do or aren't gifted at
14- Let go of perfectionism
-give myself grace
-take time to savor and enjoy life with the kids
-they won't remember their school lessons as much as they'll remember our time together
15- Choose gratitude
-contentment is a choice

Pregnancy Update

Here I am at 30 weeks

How far along? 32 Weeks

Total weight gain? 30 pounds....but like they say, it's mostly muscle, right? :)

Maternity clothes? I hate/love them. I love having pants that don't have a zipper or button (I think we all should go to elastic bands), but I hate my maternity clothes. I got most of my maternity clothes when I was pregnant with Michael and Roger, and even though you would think that maternity clothes wouldn't go out of style, I don't feel like their very stylish at all. Plus most of them have some sort of tie around the rib cage which makes me feel even more large. Great.

Stretch marks? None that I am aware of. I already have a bunch and my kids use to call them "Choo-Choo" train tracks.

Sleep? Not a topic I like. I always have pregnancy-induced insomnia when I'm pregnant, so even though I will be super tired, I will have a hard time falling asleep. It doesn't help that Grant and William will come into my bed and wake me in the middle of the night. It can take awhile for me to fall back asleep.  Then now that I've gotten bigger, sleep is even more difficult.

Miss anything: Being able to move easily, being able to walk up the stairs without loosing my breath, being able to run.

Baby Movement: She definitely is a mover. She doesn't move as much anymore since she's loosing room, but whenever I lay down, she acts up a lot. Whenever I listen to some music she'll move around. Whenever someone stimulates my belly, like when the boys will rub it, she will start moving around. Michael has this "special" thing that he does, where he taps my belly and it will wake her up and get her moving. Honestly, I don't mind my boys feeling a connection to the baby, but having my belly constantly rubbed irritates me. I feel like I'm going to be getting chafed. 

Food cravings: I will crave fruits, and other times I will crave chocolate. Hopefully the fruit will outweigh the unhealthiness of the chocolate.

Anything make you queasy or sick: Not anymore, but earlier this pregnancy it was bad, by far the sickest I have ever been with a pregnancy.

Gender: Girl!! About time!

Labor signs: I feel like I am ready to go into labor any minute, but since I've still got two months and I have always gone to my due date, I don't think it'll come any time soon.

Symptoms: Uncomfortable. Tired. Heartburn.

Belly button in or out? Totally out. I also have an hernia just above my belly button and it sticks out as well.

Wedding rings on or off? On. After I was sick last month, it actually was a little big on my fingers. Don't worry, I'm eating enough now to make up for the lack of nutrition during that time.

Happy or moody most of the time? Honestly there are times that I am not as patient as I should be, get irritated easily. overall not the best mother. But then there are times that I am much nicer and more patient than normal. I think a lot of it has to do with how rested I am feeling. Unfortunately I have been feeling incredibly exhausted this pregnancy. But my boys have done a good job of not only being understanding when I have to just lie down on the couch, but they will serve me. I do feel pretty good that I have done a good job of putting most of my energy that I do have towards my kids.

Looking forward to: meeting this little girl! (and running, and not being so large)

This pregnancy has been by far my most difficult pregnancy. I am not sure if it's because I'm older (I'm only 29) or if it's because it's a girl. During the first trimester, I was out of commission. Poor Todd and my kids were neglected. But they were very understanding and helped me the best they could. I would be okay for a couple of hours in the morning, though I did feel awful when I woke up, but around lunch time and after lunch I would make my way to "my spot", which was the couch in the living room. Michael would come to me and say, "If you need anything, let me know" and he or Roger would bring a drink to me. I felt pretty miserable for the rest of the day, with nighttime being the worse. Going to sleep was very difficult, getting up was difficult. Life was just difficult.
When I finally got through the first trimester, I was never so relieved. Slowly, I started to feel better. Occasionally I would feel sick, which had never happened in any of my pregnancies before. Things were getting better and I really did experience the "Honeymoon Phase" of pregnancy. But then we had the ultrasound that threw a curve ball at us. It gave us a month with a lot of questions and many worries, but also a lot of comfort.
At the end of the second trimester I started feeling large and uncomfortable. I feel like I have been holding this baby more inside my body for she has been in my ribs a lot earlier than any other pregnancy. Now I feel like my belly is about to pop, having the constant feeling that I have eaten too much and will pop any minute. I have had many people ask me when I am due and they are shocked that I have two more months left. Believe me, I would be okay if my due date were sooner. I am constantly uncomfortable, not able to sit comfortably very long nor able to stand, or walk, or anything without being uncomfortable. But I guess it all comes with the territory.
One thing that I have had to give up that has been difficult to give up is running. I have continued exercising throughout my pregnancy, but about two months ago I had to stop running. I had gradually been decreasing the mileage and intensity of my running. I went from running an 8 minute mile for my normal runs to a 9, then a 10 minute mile. It was difficult to run this slowly, but I got to go out, even when it was cold and enjoy some fresh air. Then within a month I went from a 10 minute mile to about a 12-13 minute mile. This was frustrating. Instead of running almost 8 miles in an hour, I was running 4. I should have just been grateful that I was able to run, for then I soon wasn't able to run.
I had met my friend, Mellisa at 5:30 one morning to run. After our warm up walk, we started to run. After about a 100 yards I got a pain in my stomach. We stopped, walked, then we tried running again. The pain came back. We tried several times throughout the course, but were forced to walk. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I would try to run, but every run turned into a walk.  I had to give up running. Obviously, it is totally worth it, but I do miss it a lot. Whenever I pass a runner while driving, I look at them longingly, wanting to be out there with them. But I will be able to get back out there soon enough.
I've got just under two months left and we cannot wait to have this baby girl in our home. I will find myself just giggling with joy at the thought that I am going to have a girl. All of the boys are excited. Grant will lay on my belly and call it a pillow. Then he'll poke out his belly and say that Baby Evelyn is in his belly. Evelyn is what we think we will name her. Evelyn Nae. This is after Todd's mom, Eve, my sister LYNdee, and my other sister LeNAE.

Duties Extended

A friend came up to me at church and said, "Well, it's a good thing that Todd has been released from his calling so that he has more time to be Chief". She was poking fun at the irony of what I had written earlier this month. Yes, now Todd has a new calling. One that feels a little overwhelming, at least for me. He has been called to be on the Stake High Council.
When Todd got released from being Elder's Quorum President, he was a little sad, he loved his calling even though it was stressful. I was thrilled. I love that Todd is so willing to serve, and I am very supportive of his service, but I knew what stress it was causing and was elated with the idea that he wouldn't have such a stressful calling. When I had gotten released from being the Primary Chorister in January, I was sad to no longer be with the kids (especially after 2.5 years), but I was also grateful to receive a less demanding calling (I now get to teach Sunday School to the 12-13 year olds - great kids and great experience....and a lot less work).
When Todd got released, he was told to enjoy himself for the bishop didn't have anything immediately in mind for him. After not having a calling for a week or two, Todd was starting to really appreciate that he was no longer EQP. He would even joke, saying things to me like, "Hometeaching numbers need to be entered in by tomorrow.....not my problem". We did wonder what his next calling would be, grateful that the Young Mens (that's a huge calling) had been recently filled.
A couple of weeks ago I was talking with my friend. She mentioned how her brother had just been called as a High Counciler in his stake and how it was such a surprise since he was so young...he is Todd's age. As she was telling me this, I got a feeling. This feeling, though I would love to say that it was a feeling of comfort, was a "Uh-oh...that's Todd's next calling".
Last Sunday Todd was asked to meet with the Stake President on Tuesday. Of course he didn't tell me until later Sunday. We talked about the possibilities of what it may be that he was meeting for. Since he wasn't asked to bring me along, I figured that maybe I shouldn't worry about anything, but I still had a feeling, High Council.
Tuesday came and Todd went to his meeting with the Stake President. He said that on the way to the church he had a strong feeling that he was being called to the High Council, and sure enough he was. When he came home to tell me, I wasn't surprised, but yet I was.
The next couple of days I felt very overwhelmed for Todd. He was Chief Resident, he was going to have his 5th child, and he just got a demanding calling. Todd was very calm through all of this.
I am feeling a lot less anxious for Todd. I actually am feeling calm for him - and me seeing that there may be many Sundays that I will have to take all the kids to church myself...something I have done many times before. Todd feels that it will be a great experience for him, that he will be able to learn a lot and receive great insights and council from those he will be working with.
In some ways, I think this calling may be easier than EQP (now, I realize I may retract this later, so be nice when I have to eat my words).  With EQP, Todd felt a heavy load for he was the leader of a group, and it didn't help that he had little to no help the last 6-8 months he was in it. Whereas with HC, he will be part of a council - not the leader of it. I guess we will see how this all goes.

Blanket for My Girl

 When I found out that we were having a baby girl, I didn't know quite what to believe. But allowing myself to indulge in the idea of having a baby girl, I went to the craft store. I got some cute, girly yarn. And in less than a month, I had made this blanket. That really isn't too impressive when you realize that crocheting helps me stay awake while listening to my little readers read, and when you have 3 readers reading to you everyday....well, you get the point. As entertaining "Magic Treehouse" series books are, the crocheting makes a huge difference in my being able to listen rather than doze.
For this blanket I made one huge granny square

Then I created an edge using a combination of a couple of patterns

 

Then because all of the pink was not "girly" enough for me, I added on flowers

 So excited to have a girl! Can't you tell. Just wait until you see the blanket I've been sewing and the blanket Michael and Roger have been sewing by hand.

Another One Bites the Dust

Amazingly enough, with 4 boys we have only had 1 broken bone and 1 ER visit...until Monday.

Todd had been working a string of nights. This means he sleeps during the day, and with 4 boys in the house, you can imagine it can be quite difficult. Even though Todd is incredibly sweet and insists that I shouldn't worry about it, I know that he needs his sleep and try to get him all that he can. During the morning hours, Todd is sleeping so hard that it's not much of a problem of us being there, then about 1 or 2 is when Todd has been sleeping for about 5 hours and can wake easily even though he needs more sleep. I try to get the boys out of the house during that time.
I had to go to Costco, but it was starting to be a little warm, so we stopped at a park near Costco first. The boys were all having a great time, it was a great park, one of those wooden parks that my boys call a castle park. The sun was shining, and I was enjoying the fact that my boys were all playing together so nicely.
They climbed onto a "car", which was really just a box structure with a steering wheel and it teetered around. Grant was on one of the sides, which was only 2 feet from the ground. Someone jumped on the car, causing it to jolt and Grant fell onto his side.
I saw it happen and knew that it was not a good fall. I ran over to him and got down on the ground to hold him. He cried more than he usually does. He said, "Let's go home" - which is something he always will say if he's sad or upset about something when we're not home. I held him for a minute, then I took him over to a bench and held him on my (shrinking) lap.
I had tried to inspect his arm for I had seen how he had fallen on it, but he refused to let me see it. I asked him to raise his arm, but he refused. The kids were all playing well and I was sure that Todd was still asleep, so I just held Grant. With his head on my belly, he soon fell asleep.

About 45 minutes later, Grant woke up. I called out to all of the boys and we piled into the car to go to Costco. I told Grant that we would have Daddy look at his arm, but then he told me his arm was better. But when I lifted him into his car seat, and then again later into the shopping cart, he winced in pain. When Todd woke up he called me. I told him that he needed to check out Grant's arm when we got home. He asked if he had dislocated it and I told him that I wouldn't be surprised, but didn't know since Grant wouldn't let me touch or look at it.
We got home and Todd helped me unload the car. While I put the things away, Todd checked out Grant's arm. A couple of minutes later Todd came to me and informed me that Grant had broken his collar bone. Todd wanted to get an x-ray to make sure that it was indeed broken and that the shoulder wasn't hurt as well. I had planned on meeting a couple of my friends for dinner (something I rarely do) in just 15 minutes, and Todd was going to take the boys to Michael's soccer practice. I told Todd I could take Michael and the boys while he took Grant over to the hospital. He was very sweet and insisted that I go with my friends. He took Michael to his practice, then afterwards went over to the hospital.
Since he works in the ER, Todd just took Grant to X-ray. All of the people Todd works with were really helpful to him and kept commenting on how adorable Grant is. A few of them would pat Grant's shoulder, saying "Hey there Buddy", not knowing Grant's shoulder was injured, which caused Grant to wince in pain. But they were all very nice and concerned about him.
Sure enough, the X-ray showed that Grant had broken his collar bone. Todd put a sling on him and brought him home. The injury wouldn't be that bad, but Grant refuses to take any medicine. He hates medicine, always has. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that he came into the world without medicine, or what, but all of my kids love medicine, but Grant hates it. So things have been a little bit more difficult for he is so sore but won't take anything to help his pain.
I don't know what it is about collar bones, William broke his last year, when he was four. So far those are the only bones any of my boys have ever broken. The only bone I have broken was my collar bone when I was 3, and apparently my dad broke his collar bone when he was younger. We may just have weak collar bones...but maybe we have strong back bones.

Homeschool

I am loving homeschooling.

A friend said to me that she has no idea of how I do it, homeschooling, suggesting that it would be too difficult and time consuming.  I told her that I think homeschooling is easier than sending your kid to school. For one, our schedule is our own. Our time is not dictated by someone else. I don't have to rush in the mornings to have the boys off to school, then make sure we're home by a certain time to meet them when they get off. Then I don't have to deal with the pressures of homework and other things that come with the whole schooling experience.

I have also been amazed at how quickly my boys pick up on things, how quickly they learn, and I love it when they get really excited about whatever they're learning about. I love how natural their learning is coming. I really feel that we have very little frustrations and conflicts with our learning, especially when my friends complain about doing homework with their kids. And yet, I would feel very confident to have my kids evaluated as far as their knowledge and learning has been going.

I love that while on a walk we can have many conversations about different things, and being the scientist that I am (got my degree in Microbiology) you know I love it when they have scientific questions and ideas. But I love it even more when they have a spiritual or religious thought or idea. 

I love how supportive Todd is. He does have his ups and downs for this is still very new territory for him. He hasn't had the daily experiences that I have had, he hasn't talked to the experienced homeschooling mothers I have, so for him to even have as much faith in homeschooling and trust in me to teach our boys really is amazing. I love it when he's home and gets involved in their schooling, especially the science part.

I love that with homeschool my kids introduce me to different ideas and topics. I also love that what I find important, they find important.

I love that my children's "curriculum" includes how to be a brother and how to fulfill your chores, for family life is one of the most important things our children can be learning.

I love that my children have never relied on the television or someone/something else to entertain them. I have never heard any of my boys say "I'm bored"....never.  They are always finding something to do, whether it's read a book, play with a toy, play with a brother, or just have a quiet moment to ponder about things (I think it helps that they each have 3 brothers, if one kid can't think of anything to do, another one will) (or it may be that I "work" them too hard that they don't get any free time :).

Homeschooling is just one of those things that may not be for everyone, but for me I am so grateful that we decided to do it for it has brought so much joy and satisfaction into our lives.

One of these days, I may tell you about what made us decide to homeschool. It really wasn't any one thing in particular, but it just all came together.

Happy Easter

A couple of days ago, William asked me when Easter was. I told him that it was on Sunday. 

He stopped, got a concerned look on his face and exclaimed, "Do we have to go to church on Easter?!"

I think I may have missed teaching him something.

But, I was told by a friend that Roger stood up in Primary today and informed everyone, "Easter is not about bunnies, eggs, and chocolate...Easter is about Jesus' Atonement and Resurrection."

And in Michael's writing assignment the other day, I had asked why we celebrate Easter. He replied with, "to celebrate Jesus Christ redeeming us". So, I may have missed it with William, but the older two understand.

Our Easter weekend was a little different this year, since I wasn't feeling well enough to do our usual Passover Meal to start the weekend. We usually do the Passover meal the Thursday evening before Easter, but we went without.

Friday my friend, who is awesome, put together an Easter egg hunt with whoever wanted to come and join us. We all just brought 12 filled eggs for each of our kids, then the eggs were spread out and "hid". Letting the younger kids go first, each kid then got to find 12 eggs each. The boys had a great time, and Michael found a bunny shaped egg that he is loving right now. I don't know why he gets obsessed with random little things.

 

 My dad sent the boys (meaning all of us) an Edible Arrangement for Easter. On the card he said that he thought it would be better than candy...indeed it was. We had a great time eating fruit.

 On Saturday we had our own family Easter egg hunt. I had commissioned Michael to go hide the eggs, but asked him to not tell his brothers that he had done it for some of them thought it was the Easter Bunny that hid them. Well, he told them that he did it. Now Grant is the only one that thinks the Easter Bunny is real. But I'm okay with that, not a huge fan of celebrating a Bunny when we're supposed to be celebrating Christ.

 Michael hid the eggs really well, put some too deep into the bushes though

 The boys enjoyed the sunshine while going through their spoils. Grant kept sharing his candy with Todd and me. We told him he didn't have to, but he really wanted to.

 Today we had a great time at church. Sacrament meeting was wonderful. When we got home from church, Todd went to bed (since he's working nights right now) while the boys colored some eggs. While they colored, I got the Gospel Art Prints out, along with my scriptures, and we talked about Christ's last week, with emphasis on the Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. The boys loved it and were very involved in the conversation.

Afterwards we went over to our friends for dinner. It was really nice, especially since none of us have family terribly close. Sometimes it's nice to live far away from family for then your friends and ward members become your family.
Happy Easter

Sick Household

The last couple of weeks our family has been dealing with sickness. It started with Michael, then a couple of days later it went with Grant, then to William, then to Roger, then to me. Michael would not communicate how he was feeling very well, for every morning I would ask him how he was feeling and he would say "better". I had assumed that he was feeling better, not better than he was the day before but still sick. So of course, I would require him to do his chores and writing assignments. Then, after he had exerted all his energy, he would lie on the couch, not feeling very well. This made me feel like a bad mom, but he is always incredibly forgiving.
Grant was lethargic for a couple of days. He didn't run around as much and watched a couple of movies. William got the sickest of the boys. He threw up for a couple of days, but is a throwing up champ for he never missed puking into a bucket. Roger got it the least severe.
Fortunately, the sickness wasn't too bad, that is until I got it. When you're pregnant, your immune system goes down so that your body doesn't kill off your own baby. I think with my compromised immune system, this sickness just attacked me. I was sick for a couple of days, exhausted, not feeling great, but then by the third day I was bedridden. I could barely leave my bed. I was in such a fog, I would just sleep and sleep, cough, and not feel good, only being able to take Tylenol to relieve my pain. I ended up staying in bed for about 4 days.
The worst part of it, was that Todd worked almost every day and unfortunately his is not a job that he can call in sick. Around meal times (well, actually long after appropriate meal times) I would walk downstairs, throw some kind of food together, usually PB&J, leave it on the counter for the boys then I would crawl back to bed. Then about 8 PM, I would ask the boys to get their PJs on and go to bed...which they did. I hated not being downstairs with my kids, and a couple of times a day Grant would come and lie with me, just needing me to hold him. But, I was really impressed with how my boys did. My house did not stay clean, that was to be expected. But whenever I was awake, I would hear them downstairs playing together, with a lot of giggling and very little fighting. I think they had a great time for they didn't turn on movie or play any video games the whole time.
After my time staying in bed, I still didn't feel great. I still felt sick and my energy was nonexistent. I even decided to forgo our annual Passover meal because I didn't have the energy or strength to put it together. I was sick for a total of two weeks, and Michael first got sick a week before I did, so we had a sick house for 3 weeks.
Todd of course was incredibly sweet the whole time. He didn't get sick, probably because he wasn't home enough to get it (and he was probably the one that brought the bug home from the hospital to begin with). Last Friday he had work off. I still wasn't feeling great and didn't have any energy. He decided that he wanted to take the boys to the zoo, by himself, just for a couple of hours. Well, he stayed for a lot longer than a couple of hours, they stayed until it closed! They all had a great time. Todd said that the boys minded him very well. I was grateful for the rest and break that I got, as well as grateful that my boys were able to go do something besides just stay home. Apparently the boys were grateful as well, for Michael said to Todd, "This is fun....we haven't gone anywhere for a long time!"

Duties

 For about the last year, Todd has been pressured about being the Chief Resident for the hospital for his last year which starts in July. He consulted with me about my thoughts and feelings. I was torn. Selfishly, I didn't want him to be chief for it meant that he had more responsibilities and I feel that he has enough extra responsibilities without becoming chief. But, I also knew and understood that becoming chief had it's perks and honors. It's great on a resume and I know that even though there is absolutely no financial compensation, there are professional perks and honors...in many ways it can be compared to being chosen as the football team captain. I knew that Todd has worked hard, and that if he wanted to be chief, he had earned it; therefore I told him that I supported him in whatever his decision.
A couple of months ago Todd came to me and informed me that he had decided that he was not going to be chief. I was happy about this, but before I showed too much excitement, I asked him why he had decided this. What he said made me even happier.
He said that he had a family and that though he was sure he could do the job of chief, he wanted to focus on his boys and family. He also felt that this was just the first step in a long professional life of "..if you will take on this extra position, you'll get paid more money.....". Even though Todd really enjoys what he does, has said that if he has to be away from us, there's nothing else he would rather do, he also realizes that his first priority is his family.
A week later he got a call from the current chief, the director of the residency program wanted to know if he wanted to be chief. I heard Todd answer this phone call and I was nervous. Todd is such a people-pleaser, I was sure he would cave and say "yes'....but he didn't.
Well, fast forward a couple of months. The other good option for chief is a girl that is now pregnant with her first child. Todd soon realized that he may need to step it up after all. When he won the popular vote from the other residents, the director of the program brought him into his office. Todd accepted the position of chief resident.
I wasn't upset, I understood the circumstances. Plus, Todd recently was released from his calling as Elders Quorum President, so he should have more free time. I am just grateful for the experience of having Todd decide on his own and come up with the decision to put his family first. He is such a great husband and father, and God knows where his heart is.
This may mean that the next year will be a little bit more exhausting than we had imagined, but at least he has always found ways to spend time with his boys....even if it means being a little uncomfortable.