If I...

James brought home two papers today and this is what it said. (black is what was on the paper and red is what she filled in.)

I would love to have 100 dollars because... I wood by toys.

If I could have $100.00 I would...100 phones and chapstick.

So Jamison, just had to remember it.

Growing Pains

Last night Asher woke up about 11:30 screaming (not just crying but screaming) I cannot walk anymore, mamma I need you. So I throw my legs over the bed and drag myself downstairs to find him beside himself. His leg hurt, that much was easy to get. I situated him in bed, laid next to him and started to rub them. I remember growing up having terrible leg aches (growing pains.) Ones that brought me to tears often. I remember my mom always being so patient and loving trying to rub them out and relieve the pain. I tried to do the same for my little one who was hurting. After awhile I stopped rubbing and the fidgeting immediately started. It was not going to cut it. So I carried the little man, two of his blanket and a hockey stick upstairs (not a terribly easy feat with a 6 month pregnant belly.) I got him some ibuprofen and made a bed for him on the couch. I rubbed his leg some more until the medicine kicked in and he seemed content....until I tried to walk away. He was not about to give up without a fight. His leg was doing better, but he was beside himself because he did not have his hockey puck. So at 12 o'clock at night, motivated more by pure exhaustion than love, I began the search in the playroom and his room for the missing hockey puck. It was found, he was settled and I went to bed (until the next round of disturbances.) Someday these kids will appreciate the extreme measures their mother has taken the to make them happy and get them to go to sleep!!!!

Five years ago today, this little boy came to our family. I had been having contractions for days, per my usual...and had not slept well in several night. Three days after his due date we had a induction scheduled. The night before that I was having contractions strong enough (yet no closer than 8 minutes apart) to not allow me to sleep. I stayed up all night. I watched a lot of music videos and Sleepless in Seattle. I heard the song Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day so many times that night. Now every time I hear that song I think of Caleb. The next morning we went to the hospital. At 8 o'clock they put me on the pit. I remember the contractions getting very painful and the nurse would not stop talking to me...I was bugged. His heart rate kept dropping, so they had me sign all the forms for a c-section just in case. By a bit after 11:00 I was feeling the pain and asked for an epidural. I was told no because they were getting the doctor to take me in for a c-section and they would do a spinal there. Not too comforting for a women in the middle of labor...both the prospect of surgery and also lack of relief from pain. By the time the doctor got there I was about ready to push, so he opted against the c-section and to just get him into this world. After just a few pushes our little boy joined the outside world with the cord wrapped around his neck several times. He was just fine and looked perfect to both Grant and I (and believe me Grant looked him over quire well, esp his eyes.) I would not have thought natural labor would have been so good, the recovery was awesome! What a sweet addition he was to our family...and it just keeps getting sweeter! Happy birthday little man, we love you!

Simple gesture

Last night I was in the laundry room getting the kids clothes out of the dryer. All the kids were downstairs playing. Grant walked in behind me as I picked up a basket of laundry and put his arms around my ever growing (or non-existant) nwaist. I put the basket down and he pulled me in kissed me on the cheek and told me he loved me. It was simply wonderful. It made me think about times when we were first married and I would be doing the dishes and he would do almost the same thing. Then I would shrug him off and tell him not right now, I am busy...I wish I had not done that. I am so glad he did not ever give up on me, and I am so glad I have realized I need to slow down and enjoy those simple gestures offered to me. What a good man I have and how much I have learned and need to learn!

Picture Time

It is almost impossible for us to get a good picture of our family. We took a couple of good ones where everyone is looking forward and smiling, but of coarse those are the blurry ones. The picture that turns out clear shows a range of emotions with everyone, and it cracks me up. I figure at least we try, and how often do we all get in front of the camera together. Timers help give me fun memories of what it is really like to be a part of this family (someday we will fork out the money and get fabulous professional pictures taken, but for now this makes me almost as happy.)

Balance

And no I am not talking about the type of balance that was required of the biggest loser contestants this week (Go Kohli!!!!!) I am feeling the stresses of balance with Jamison and her schooling. I was feeling it already this week, and then she got her report card yesterday. She is doing much better, and though her teacher said she has made marked improvements from the beginning of the year, she emphasized that she needs to read every night and do high frequency words every night too. My struggle...we already spend at least 30 minutes a day doing phonics and spelling. James practices spelling at least every school day, sometimes twice and still struggles. I do not even get to the sentences on the back, just working with the 12 not so easy words she has. Today as soon as she got home from school we spent 1 1/2 hours and still have not done reading and HFWs...and we need to practice more spelling for the test tomorrow. I want her to do well, but more so I want her to have time to be a kid. It is hard when she is at school 7 hours, and upon arriving home only has 4 1/2s to do homework, eat, bathe, do chores and be a kid before she has to be in bed...seriously, not much time for playing if you ask me. It is so fun to watch her progress, but I had no clue my kids schooling would cause me this much stress so soon. She is at the level she needs to be, at the bottom of it according to the tests, but still on target...so I have to tell myself she is good and just let her be a kid...easier said than done. So I am trying to find my balance as a parent that highly values education and enjoying life at the same time. Good luck to me!

Oh Asher

Two days ago I caught Asher in the act of smacking his little sister on the head. I told him sharply not to hit his sister and without missing a beat he replied, "I did not hit her, I high fived her head."

Not as bad

Why do I make things out to be worse in my mind than they are. I have been dreading school starting again for over a week. I hated the thought of having to get up again in time to get kids awake, fed, ready and out the door just to start my crazy day. Most of all I dreaded sending James off to school for 7 hours of her waking day (which is all totalled only about 11 hours) and not being as much a part of her life. It makes me sad whenever I think of it in those terms. So last night I tucked the kids in bed with reluctance to the next day I had to face....mostly school, but laundry and grocery shopping played a part too. I talked with Grant about how they are growing to quick and leaving too soon...Yet this morning came and went. We did our routine, James went to school, I was not as sad as I thought I would be, I survived and we are back at it. So why do I make it harder than it needs to be????

Funniest thing of the day

Yesterday the kids were all playing football with Grant. When they all get involved it often turns into a wrestling match, and there was a big pile of bodies trying to get the football. I missed it, but Grant immediately told me about the funniest thing that day. While in the pile, James was determined that she was going to get that ball. There were limbs, bodies and hands everywhere. She found the hand closest to her and proceeded to bite it. It was not until the hand was in her mouth that she realized it was her own. Funny, funny girl.