Catching up...

The past couple months have been a blur...Just when I think I'm getting used to a schedule or keeping up with things, I get a reality check that life with 5 busy kids just isn't going to be neat and tidy like that.  I am starting to get over that (and myself) and am trying to enjoy every moment without completely trying to control or worry over it all.  Our kids have been great at picking up the pieces of what Mom can't keep up with and turning it into being responsible, well-rounded & adapted individuals.  I was really excited when they all went out this Halloween, and for the most part, chose their own costumes and decided what they were going to do.  I simply did not have the energy and felt bad, because I know it won't be long and I won't get a picture like this again.

If I could have found a football uniform for Noah, you can bet he would have been a football player too.  If he is just as obsessed about it next year as he is this year, you know what he'll be wearing next Halloween.

We went up to the Prep Bowl this year and although I was worried that it was going to be outside (TCF Stadium), the weather cooperated perfectly and it was a beautiful day, a great game & the best outcome...Back to back Class A State Champs!  There was a little action that happened during and especially after that game, but our boys displayed Viking Valor and made us all proud of them and our community, because it could have gotten really ugly.

Now that football is over, we are well underway into basketball and wrestling season.  Ian is wrestling again this year because they have a great program for little ones to burn off some energy.  We will take him to a few tournaments but we are by no means going all-out for first grade wrestling, simply because we have 2 other kids in activities as well.

Faith is now in her first year of organized basketball, and her coach is none other than...Daddy!  He just can't say no, but it only seems fair that since he coached AJ's 4th grade team, that he does so again for Faith.  I must say, he's much more laid back now with her team than he was 3 years ago.  Faith has a great knack for ball handling and loves to take control and drive right to the basket.  I hope she continues to have that confidence as she grows in her game.

AJ is back to basketball after having to sit out last year because of his ACL injury.  His class has gotten taller, the game is faster, and competition is a little more, well...competetive.  He feels a little behind in his skills, but we encouraged him to keep practicing hard and it will get better.  I think part of his frustration is that he compares himself to one of his classmates who is a foot taller and comes from a large family of older superstar basketball athletes to practice with.  (That player has now been moved up from 7th grade ball to play with C & B squad - 9th-11th graders.  Yes, he's THAT good.)  So, now without their "star" player, the boys have to up their games and their attitudes about themselves and just have fun playing games they might not always win, as they have so easily done in the past.  Sports are just not about the game, but also learning lots about life and who we are and how to grow in that.  I think that's why Jason loves being an athletic director so much.  It's a great privilege to be able to teach kids about being adults in the settings they are in.

Laney is excelling in all things artsy.  She made her costume for Halloween, loves drawing for art class, and plays piano and clarinet beautifully.  She spends much of her time at home while most of us run up to the school for games, but she doesn't mind and loves having the house quiet and to herself once in a while.  Noah also likes to hang out at home sometimes, so they have had more time together.  She also took a babysitting course this fall, so she is getting more experience at home and hopes to earn some money that doesn't involve picking rocks.  Both her and AJ are as tall as Mom now and it takes some getting used to.  I've been so used to hugging small people and now it's like hugging myself...seems way to soon for that!

Unfortunately, my camera is on the fritz and I was forced to bring the tablet to Christmas concerts.  With the intention of video taping each of the kids' songs, I realized halfway through that there was only enough storage for one picture.  So as I watched part of the concert through the back side of a tablet, thinking I was taping it, I really only snapped a picture, and this was it.  (If you look closely, you can pick out Ian dressed as "the man in black")  I'm thankful for the memory...it was a beautiful program, as well as thankful that I realized what was happening and closed the tablet and watched the rest of it from my chair and not through a screen.

Merry Christmas!!  May you know the love of God and His desires for you!

rep-uh-TAY-shun-ist - n.

Faith: (in a conversation with Laney) You know...the person who sits at a desk and answers phones and stuff?
Me: (overhearing the struggle of explaining her word) Faith, do you mean "receptionist"?
Faith (laughing): Yes! That's what I meant!

I need to make sure I get these recorded right away, because I almost forgot how she said it and it wasn't as funny the way I was trying to explain it to Jason.  It's almost as good as the spuh-TOO-lah story!

Happy birthday, Noah!

 Noah turned 4 and we are having so much fun!  He's small compared to most 4 year olds, so when he says and does the things he does, he tends to catch people off guard.  He's starting to break out of his shell and is getting better at talking to others.  When he does, it's usually about Minneota football, or as he says it, "Minneota huh-ball".  He loves watching the State Championship games...one is on YouTube and the other is on Grandma & Grandpa's DVR.  He knows exactly what is going to happen during those games and he lets the rest of us know as well. 

 

He also loves dinosaurs, Thomas the Train and spending as much time with Daddy when he can.  Now that's Mommy's working part time, she gets to come home after "a long day's work", but she gets the "Hi Momma" welcome.  When Daddy gets home, (even if he left for just 10 minutes), he gets the wide-open-arms-run-to-you greeting with a top-of-your-voice, "DADDY!!!!"  Don't get me wrong, I feel the same way most days, but who wouldn't want that greeting for themselves also??

 

Yes, he still falls asleep at strange times in strange positions.  He couldn't even finish his ice cream cone this time!  We are excited (and somewhat sad) that our youngest is 4.  As he grows, we try take in every toddler moment knowing it will most likely be our last.  (God has not been calling us to another baby...sorry ya'll!)  With that in mind, we are looking at our family as moving toward teenagers, later nights and with that, sleeping in later, more activities, more conversations and no diapers!  (Well, unfortunately, Noah has expressed no intention of using any type of potty in the near future, so the patience virtue builds as we anticipate that milestone.)  He does about everything necessary for potty training, except wanting to use it!  He even got mad at me for taking him down the aisle at Walmart that had potty chairs & pouted all the way to the other end of the store.  When I realized he was upset about something, I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I don't want to get a potty chair!  I don't like it!"  

So this little Mister gets his way because with this little face and a Mom that prayed for patience, he is sure to give her opportunities to master it, but she absolutely loves it and is grateful for the gift of him and his big persistence in a tiny body.  Happy birthday, Mister!

Got shingles?

Unfortunately, these are not the shingles on the roof, and yes, I got them.  It's been over 2 weeks since I was diagnosed, but looking back, I began having symptoms 4 days before that.  I didn't get the classic itching rash right away, rather the pain first and then a rash, so that's why it took me so long to go to the doctor.  For the most part, I am healed up, just some slight nerve pain when I get stressed or overwhelmed, (which, let's face it, in a family with 5 kids, working a part-time job with preschoolers after a 13 year at-home-mom-hiatus, and a hubby that works 2 admin jobs, stressed is everyday.)  Right now, my skin feels like a bad sunburn that itches, but you can't scratch because that makes it burn more.

What has this condition taught me?  1) That it's time to let go of most of the "extras" that I am doing right now so I can take care of myself and my family first and foremost.  The extras will always be there.  2) That I need a better outlet to deal with my stress.  3) Lastly, to offer my never-ending cycle of pain and health issues up to God and put them to good use.  I am reminded that there are many people suffering way more than me in other ways, and that by directing my pain toward God and offering it to Him for someone else, somehow allows me to experience a grace and relief that I can't do myself or with painkillers.  It is in the suffering that Christ showed us how much He loved us, so the least I can do is turn this experience into His loving hands so that He can bless it with His perfect will.

You'll never believe this one...

If you've read this blog, you've seen pictures of Noah sleeping in strange positions and different places, 

but this one I wouldn't have believed if I just heard it.  This is truly a "seeing is believing" moment.

Here he is in the back of the Suburban, on Jason's baseball equipment bag during a Mudhens practice.

I don't know if I should feel sorry for him or laugh that he really does this.

Spanish & ISIS

Ten days ago, our Faith-y turned 10 years old.  She had a sleep over with a couple of friends and a party the next day with more friends.  They had fun running around and we even made an attempt at tie dying socks.  (I say "attempt" because they didn't hold the dye because this Mommy forgot to make sure the socks were 100% cotton.)  We'll try again next year, but maybe we'll do headbands instead.  Here they are eating their ice cream treats.

 

Being 10 comes also with it's share of downs to go with the ups, with most of that falling into the category of homework and added responsibilities.  If you didn't know, Faith has only one other classmate in her actual grade, so they are combined with the grade above them.  They all get along great, but some days, the pace of early 'tweens gets to a sensitive girl.

Last week, she was having a hard time getting to sleep and I usually realize that she's got lots on her mind and just needs to release some of the stress before she can get any rest.  After a couple nights of bedtime routine stalling, I sat down to ask her what was up.  The proceeded to tell me her worries about not knowing as much Spanish as she thought Fr. Zach thought she should know.  I know, she worries enough for most of us.  This is her first year learning Spanish, and to Fr. Zach's credit, he is immersing them in it, and they are stressing about it.

As we continue on, she then mentions that Fr. Craig was in their class that week also.  (Yes, we are blessed to have 3 priests in our area that are great with kids!)  So he was talking about Christian persecution.  I don't know if someone asked a question or what, but what he said sunk right to her heart, and she started telling me, "He was telling us about these people that go around killing people (*begins to wail) THAT LOVE JESUS!"  So at this point, she was crying hysterically and I had to reassure her that ISIS was not coming to our house (hopefully not anytime soon anyways) and that even if they did, we would just have to pray and trust that God would protect us. 

What was so beautiful about it, was that her fear was real BECAUSE she loves Jesus, and although I would never hope that my children would die because of their faith, my prayer is that they have a faith strong enough that they would not be afraid to die proclaiming it.  That they love God so much, that no evil could convince them to turn from Him ever, even in the face of death.  As a parent, I hope that that death is only one of death-to-self and not a physical one.  I truly had a God-filled moment when I heard her innocent but mature 10-year old love of Jesus and witnessed her live up to her name.

Hair raising issue

Well, the good news is that lice shampoo smells pretty good.  The bad news is that I now know what lice shampoo smells like. 

It's the call any parent dreads..."You need to come pick up so & so, because we found evidence of lice."  EW!  I'm just itchy and squirmy thinking about it! 

Luckily, only 1 of the 4 in school had it in their class, but unfortunately, you still have to treat them all as if they actually have it.  So after I got home from working this morning, I had to set out in search of lice treatments.  To save myself possibly an hour of driving to Marshall, I headed to our little grocery store to find out if they had any.  After a short visit in the aisle, I QUIETLY asked the cashier, (because there were 2 people in that aisle, which is usually empty every other time I'm in there!), if she knew if they had any.  She briefly looked and then to my dismay, went to the register and uttered into the microphone, "Brad, do we have any lice treatment?!"  (NOT quietly I might add.)  Now not only am I fidgety because my kid has lice, now it's being announced over the loudspeaker and now everyone else in the store knows that I'm looking for cootie treatment!

I quickly set out to my next destination, to buy more than enough treatment to delouse the entire block.  I had to make sure I got enough to treat everyone initially, plus some spray to treat things that I couldn't put in the washer, not to mention another spray that you could put directly onto hair (just in case the shampoo didn't work the first time) and a preventative shampoo to keep the critters away until this all gets under control.  Can you say "overkill"?

As if going through lice treatment isn't enough, adding insult to injury is washing everything that your child has come into contact, pretty much EVER!  Every single bed was stripped of all the blankies, mounds of pillows and stuffed animals and hauled to the laundry room.  Every blanket that was used that I could find had to get washed, and unfortunately it was nearly every one.  My laundry pile looks like Mount Everest and I will be washing well into tomorrow, and if I'm lucky, I might actually get to my "real" laundry on my day off!

Let's just say that today has been "a case of the Mondays" so I will be glad when it's over.  For now, we all have clean heads and clean sheets.  And even though I wasn't a hero, because all of the pillows and blankies were not done by the time bedtime came, I know that I battled the bugs and hope to come out victorious.  If anything, we'll all at least smell good in the process!  So, I'm at least happy that we don't smell like medicine cabinets, but it's also a smell that I hope I won't have to experience ever again!