Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Warning: Not for the faint of stomach

Last week started not my favorite week ever. Tuesday night just after going to bed and on the verge of sleep Caleb started to bawl. That usually means he needs to go to the bathroom. I swing my feet over the edge of the bed and head down the stairs. When I get to his room he enlightens me to the fact that he threw up everywhere...and all over his bed he did. I got him down, cleaned up and got the bedding ready for the washer. I made him a bed on the couch upstairs and got him a bowl. I went back to bed and was up throughout the night helping him.

About three hours after that I wake up to Asher freaking out. I go down to check on him and he wet his bed. At this point the washer is occupied by puke bedding, so pee bedding just has to wait in a bundle until the morning. I get him cleaned up and a bed made on the floor next to my bed. Back to sleep for a short time before bowl duty it required of me again.

The next day Caleb was feeling better and the two youngers had a doctors appointment. I took Caleb too so he could get his flu shot. Asher was a nightmare the whole appointment and would not cooperate at all. The doctor could not even hear his hard because he was screaming. Mique was good, but very curious and all over the place. Caleb alerted Asher to the fact he was getting shots, and it was over. Asher screamed bloody murder with his two shots, Caleb cried like a girl with his shot and Mique cried a bit with her 4 but was the toughest of all.

I went home to a full day of laundry of blankets, bedding and contaminated clothes. That evening diarrhea began for Caleb. That night he had an accident in his bed and his bedding had another date with the laundry. Asher and Mique shortly followed. Not fun for a boy that just potty trained and a little girl with a very sore behind. On to more laundry of dirty underwear and clothes. Needless to say, diapers were back in order.

The following night Caleb threw up in his bed again, and bedding washed for the third day in a row...not my week! Mique and Asher are still battling the flu beast. I have been making Asher wear a diaper to bed. Yesterday after breakfast he came up naked with underwear in his hand asking if he could wear it. I told him if he did not pee or poop in it. He said he would not and went downstairs. Less than five minutes later he is freaking out. I go downstairs and find he did keep his word and instead of going in his underwear he went on the carpet in the girls room...mind you he is still having stomach issues....NO FUN!

He was a terror all day, but eventually took a nap and gave me a break. It was not the most glamorous week of motherhood, but hopefully it can only get better from here (it sure feels like it cannot get much worse!)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Back from the mountains and into reality

So Grant is back from the mountains and I am back to reality. It was a fun quick little get away to see friends and family. I loved the scruffy man I got back...he still hasn't shaved and I love it! He did over 14 miles in less than three days with elevations climbing over 11,000 feet. I was so disappointed for him that his fish dinner did not work out as planned, but glad that the Ramen noodles were a hit. Now we are back to school, dance, soccer, cooking, cleaning, and a little boy who cannot seem to totally get the hang of potty training. When do I get to go to the mountains, or is there a spa resort called the mountains from which I can return after a couple of days?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

09-02-99

Ten years ago yesterday was a very special day, though I had no clue at the time. That was the day that I met Grant for the first time face to face. We had been writing for about a year and a half (a whole other story which sometime I will tell) and that was the day we met in person. Seven months previous to that I had gotten home from my mission. One day before Grant had stepped off of the airplane into the U.S. for the first time in almost two years. He had gotten my # before he came home, and the evening of the 2nd he paged me. I was out to dinner with good friends (Nanne and Joep Wijkstra) visiting from Holland. They took several of us to dinner at their favorite place Sizzler. I got the page and called him back on the pay phone there. We decided to meet that night since the next day he was on his way to Idaho to see his sister and then off the California. He had his uncle give me directions to his Nana's where he was staying. I ate dinner with my friends, ran home really quick and then headed up to Sandy.

I do not know what I was thinking, well I was not thinking, but I was in for a treat. I rang the door bell, and not until the door opened did it dawn on me that he was just back from his mission and his WHOLE family was there. So now the interesting/embarrassing part begins. Let me give a little history. Grant and I decided that when we met we would not shake hands because we were no longer missionaries, that we would hug. So his sister who answered the door called down the stairs to Grant. Up comes someone running...and mind you I have only seen pictures of this guy. The person says hello and sticks out his hand to shake it, so I say, "Remember we said we were not going to shake hands," and I give him a big ole hug....in front of everyone. He looks at me funny, turns around, and goes down the stairs, not saying another word. I follow while thinking, man I do not remember his teeth looking so jacked up in the pics. We get down there and leads me to a room where Grant is sitting on the bed talking on the phone. Yep, I hugged his 16 year old brother. I was very embarrassed, but very excited about how good looking Grant was.

He got off the phone, hugged me, and kept fidgeting. I could tell he was nervous, and that made me a bit nervous. I still remember what he was wearing. A red flannel shirt, baggy jeans with Doc shoes and a shark tooth necklace. (Grant remembers what I was wearing too because I tried to get rid of it this year and he would not let me because that was what I was wearing the first night.) He took me upstairs and introduced me to his family, all of them. I remember feeling like a deer caught in headlights with all the names and questions. I could not remember which one was his mom and which one was his aunt. We finally decided to go to a movie and several of the family went with us.

I told them all this great new movie was out, we should go see it. It was Sixth sense. How was I supposed to know that his family did not do scary movies, my family loves them. He about died and had nightmares for a month, but he was a trooper. At some point in the movie I was thinking I really wanted him to hold my hand (and hand holding was a pretty big deal for me). I strategically placed my hand so it was easy for him to grab, but I think he was too scared to even notice. After the movie we went back to his Grandma's house and sat in the car talking FOREVER! He eventually held my hand (which I loved) and later kissed me (once again no complaints.) Though, he will argue who kissed who...it was so him!

The thing that was so amazing to me was how comfortable it felt from the first night. I felt like I had known him forever. It only took dates with two other guys after that to know that I did not want to spend my time with anyone else! Ten years ago, who would have thought this is were we would be? Not me, and not Grant. But, I am SO glad this is where we are!

I think it is interesting to note that when Grant and I left Nana's house that night, she turned to everyone else and said, "That is the girl Grant is going to marry."

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I don't normally

I did something today that I do not normally do, and it was nice! I was in my room folding the laundry when Caleb walked in and said, "Mom I want you to play catch with me." My typical response is, "Son I cannot right now I am folding laundry, but maybe after I am done." Usually he forgets by the time I am done, or I tell him first I have to....., until there is no longer time. Today I decided to respond differently, stuck my hand out and told him to throw it to me. He said, "No, I want you to do it with your mitt." So, I had him get me glove and went to the other room where we threw to each other, laughed, made amazing catches, had a few bad throws and made up little games. It was great, why do I not do this more often? I still had time to fold the laundry, make lunch, clean it up, etc, but I am SO grateful I took the time to do something out of my ordinary!