Sour Milk. Again.

The last thing I expected to see this morning when walking in the door was my 2 year old daughter standing in the middle of the living room with white projectile shooting out of her mouth. And it just didn't stop. Poor little thing! This is her first experience of throwing up. And it being all milk to boot! Glad there's more Vernors in the fridge and just enough Lysol left in the can (which is a lot better smelling than the skunk who decided to infiltrate our nostrils at 2 a.m. this morning and can still be smelled throughout the house).

wiggling the pearly whites

I can handle witnessing throwing up. I can handle cuts and oozing blood. I can handle goose eggs and scrapes from the cement. There is one thing I can not handle. A loose tooth. And this morning I almost lost all my dinner from last night (which was very tasty..so I didn't want to lose it). This morning Sam started eating and he said that his teeth hurt. He said he hit his teeth on the metal part of his bunk bed last night. So I went to investigate. Sure enough. His bottom, middle two teeth were loose. Even thinking about it makes me squirm. And it's all he has talked about today. He's so excited that he has not one, but TWO loose teeth. He keeps wiggling them. Hope I can eat today b/c right now, nothing sounds good and my appetite is all gone. How can such tiny little things cause me to loose all contents of my stomach? I have not a clue. Maybe it's one of those 7 mysteries of the world. And then again, maybe I just have a weak stomach.

a basketful of baked goods.

This past weekend was a busy one. It started out by cleaning the house for my brother and his family that were coming over. I made dinner for all 9 of us and then we headed to a magic show/celebration/party for our friend that won the world magic competition in Sweden a couple of weeks ago. Saturday started out with friends taking the kids so Ed and I could go out for breakfast and we even were able to hit a few garage sales and purchase a kitchen for the little princess for Christmas. Thanks K and K!!! Then started the baking. Sunday was the ministry fair at church and I was going to have a table to display the meals ministry. I wanted people to have some refreshments, since my table was about food, so the rest of Saturday from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. was spent baking. Two coffee cakes (one for K and K for taking the kids), 2+ dozen blueberry muffins, two loaves of grandmas banana bread and a tray of apple sticky buns. By the time Sunday came, I couldn't even look at all the baked goods, let alone eat them. From 10 p.m until 1 a.m. I worked on my display board for my table. Sunday was a great day meeting people and smiling lots. And of course a nap in the middle of it.

It was a busy, but excellent, weekend.

Wired

Today has been CRAZY!!! And I'm wired from it. I've been blabbing and blabbing on the phone to whomever decides to call. If you don't want your ear talked off, please don't call because I'm in a blabby, chatty mood today.

The day started out normal. I woke up. that's about all that was normal. I got a WONDERFUL massage from my amazing husband (was that only this morning?!?). I even got a SHOWER! yes...it's true. I squeezed in a shower this morning. Amazing. I know. I worked and was done in time to clean the house. Sam was picked up to go play at a friends house and even before he was out of her van at their house, he slipped and sliced his head open (which now matches his sisters' when she fell off the top of the back of the couch and landed on the fireplace..yeah..not fun), and he even proposed to his little friend in the hot tub at their house, but she turned him down. Broke my heart. :( Though..they're only 5, so I guess there's still time for her to change her mind.

I got caught up on e-mails and then enjoyed a feast of mac and cheese with Alina for lunch. Sam came home, both went to bed, I read a book. Nothing too exciting there. I then checked my e-mail and saw that I have two more families to plan meals for (I head up the meals ministry at our church and if someone is not in a small group and needs meals either for medical reasons or birth of a baby or what ever, it's my job to schedule meals to be delivered to them from other people in the church. I LOVE doing it. It's a huge passion of mine). So anyway, I have four different families I'm doing now, which is a lot, but I'm up to the challenge.

Ed comes home early to pick Sam up and off they go to a park so Ed can use his new GPS to map out a trail for his orienteering group that'll be starting up. 20 minutes later I get a call from him asking if by chance my keys were in the glove box. "Nope" I said, "they're right here. Did you lock the keys in the truck". "Ummmm. Yeeeeahhhh". So then it was frantic calling (as I could hear Sam screaming in the background b/c it was pouring rain and lighting and he didn't like that very much) around to find someone to come pick up the keys at our house to take out to him (as we only have one vehicle). I found a friend who was coming home from vacation and had been driving for hours and they were so gracious to stop by and help out. That was all taken care of. I got a call an hour later from one of the families I left a desperate plea on the answer machine for help to see if we were all set. So sweet they are!

I get a call from my neice about a march-a-thon for her marching band fund raiser. Of course I couldn't say no as I remember vividly the days of going door to door selling sausages for Thanksgiving and hating every minute of it. So of course I said yes. I talked to her mom for a bit. Got off the phone, got a call from Ed asking to call and order pizza for he and Sam to stop and eat and while on the phone, my other brother called who's driving to MI from OH with his family and made plans for tomorrow evening to get together with them. And then I called Ed back to make sure I was ordering the right thing as it was a fast conversation and I didn't remember much b/c Alina just decided to jump from a stool to the couch and missed the couch. yeah. not good. So while on the phone with Ed, my other friend called to make sure everything was ok. Called pizza's in and called her back and just rambled away. She probably thinks I'm loco. Yeah..I could be. I'm so wound right now as you can tell from this enormously long book that I just keep adding to. It's 9:40, Alina's still up having a great time playing, Sam and Ed are still out and I need something a bit strong to drink to get me calmed down!!!

Sour milk

There is nothing like seeing milk the 2nd time around. That is what I was fortunate to witness today every half hour. My poor little boy probably lost a good 5.2 pounds today from throwing up from 9 a.m. until 12:30 this afternoon. He woke up with a sore throat and asked for something to drink, which should've been the first red flag to my groggy memory this morning. But I figured since he hasn't thrown up like this in awhile (it would usually happen monthly, almost to the day), that I would quench his thirst by giving him a half glass of water. Then he wanted milk. He downed that half glass too. 20 minutes later, a big white lump of regurgitated milk came back up. After that it was foam and air for the next 3 hours. I even found him alseep laying on the living room floor. His eyes were all guant, his tummy looked like it was sucked in. I knew not to give him anything. Especially Gatorade, which the doctor suggested once. Purple acid does not come out of the carpet well. But one thing does work. Fizzy. Vernors to be exact. And the hero of the day brought it to him. All was well. A full dinner will be eaten without a problem of keeping it down. This afternoon, pillow fights insued. Screaming siblings took charge of the quietness once more. The talking back has taken precidence yet again. Bossiness of the wee little nipper is back in full force. Ahhhh....peaceful noise.

life

If I stop and think for a moment, I see that life is a very complicated thing. More than just laundry, dishes, getting through the day (though there are days where to make it through the day is a huge accomplishment), vacuuming, disciplining and the list could go on of "things" that I do.

I was standing in line at Meijer this morning behind this very elderly couple. She was in a motorized chair and he was paying the bill and couldn't keep his hands and arms still from shaking. A thought ran through my head. "What are Ed and I going to be like when we're that old? What kind of memories will we have?" Which brought other questions to mind. Am I living life to the fullest? To enjoy each moment? Even when kids are screaming at each other. Even when the zucchini bread I bake is drier than sand. Not to wait for the next set of events for life to get better: Sam going to school. Not being strapped financially. The weekend. The next sunny day. Is life only lived then? Am I wasting away the days, time with my kids, my husband, my friends, to wait for something better? I could sure be waiting awhile.

the weekend

This past weekend we went on our first family-of-four backpacking trip. It was quite the experience. The hubby recounts the story and events to the tee. Go ahead and read it here.
It really is a good story. And good pictures too.

hole-y refuse

So this week has been busy. Not busy doing things, but busy wondering what our lawn out back was going to turn into.

To pick up our septic story of last month, I thought that little itty bitty pile of dirt was a lot. This past week, I've come to realize how itty bitty that pile really was.

To start, or pick up, here's our little itty bitty pile of dirt before Monday.















Then they started digging.


That itty bitty pile of dirt? Not so itty bitty, but morphed into something scary.















A huge hole formed in our yard (and this was only 1/2 of the hole).















And more mountains rose up where I never thought dirt would ever be.















And a new driveway.















This was our yard before state of failure.


Now this is our yard after a 23 foot deep by 10 feet wide by 66 foot long hole was dug in it.

So now we pray over the seeds that will be planted, that they will grow, and that we will never have to see the man who was paid to come take care of our internal outcomes.

no counting sheep here

So here it is. 11:32 p.m. I'm wide awake with no thoughts or visions of sleepy land anytime soon. My mind is going way to fast to slow down. I shouldn't have watched The Godfather II or maybe it was the first one. All's I know is that all the blood got to me and I'm actually afraid to close my eyes. I really don't like nights like these. Where my brain is ramping up scenarios of conversations that probably will never take place. Where feelings that I thought were dead and buried, resurface unannounced. Finding myself ensconced in an inner battle between who I believe God made me to be and the steep, slippery slope of who I know God did not create me to be. Realizing that it's easier to slide down the slope than follow my true Compass.

With midnight rapidly approaching, I hope to close my eyes and join the rest of the family in sweet, deep, peaceful slumber. To put these thoughts, feelings, ideas and images away for a few moments, to be brought back out in the light of day where I can fully see, with a non-sleep endused mind what God would have me do and what direction He points me in.

melting

Today was the Ada Kids Fair in downtown Ada. Be careful because if you blink, you'll miss it. It's a quaint little village. Very tiny with really cute shops and has a charm and personality all it's own.

So the kids fair had lots of free stuff. Lots of arts and crafts. Face painting. Tattoos. Moonwalk, bouncy, slidy rides. Horses. Petting zoo with a llama, donkey, camel and lots of little creatures. I almost brought home a free kitten. They were SOOO cute!!! But it would have no food or anything waiting for it, so I thought it best not to bring one home. Plus they aren't hubby's favorite animals. I was very tempted though.

We rode our bikes to the little fair. It was mainly all downhill on the way there. Not so much on the way home. Sam did awesome peddling up all the big hills. I think I melted somewhere in there. Pulling Alina's trailer and trying not to fall over. I really don't remember much of coming home. Thank heavens for GU!! What would I do without you!!!!

Though it was swelting hot in the sunshine, it was a great time and lots of fun. Hotdogs for lunch with juice boxes. HUGE treat for the kids. And everything else was free. Can't beat free what-so-ever.

Now it's time to crash and look once more for the lost pacifier as the little princess is crying her heart out.

photo shop

My husband loves photo shopping people. My little picture up there was photo shopped by him. He put me in a meadow. He has photo shopped one of his friends wearing a hikers kilt for men. Yes..there is such a thing. He has put himself on a mountain and he photo shopped me as Helen Parr. Who's Helen Parr you ask? Just look below and you'll know exactly who she is. Creative. Isn't he?

Before











After

if you...

...have ever been in a car accident, I highly, HIGHLY, advise you to never get in a go-cart. Especially on a track where other people are out to get their friends and you just get in the way of them being crazy. The sounds, the feelings, the flashbacks are all way, way to real of a time past.

I was NOT in my happy place.

A New Food Lover

I have a new food lover (over there on the left hand side). He does love food. Especially ice cream. And bbq sauce. And cheese. But one of his greatest loves is not food. It's maps. Hence his blog name. The Misadventures of a Cartographer. What is a cartographer? This answer I do know only because I asked him while sitting here in his office. But I'm not going to tell you only because I want you to go visit him here. And then you can ask him. :)

A Touching Elephant Story

Just a little story that was sent to me by my hubby....

While on holiday in Kenya and walking through the bush a man comes across an elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seems distressed so the man approaches very carefully. He gets down on one knee and inspects the bottom of the elephant's foot only to find a large thorn deeply embedded. As carefully and as gently as he can he removes the thorn and the elephant gingerly puts its foot down. The elephant turns to face the man and with a rather stern look on its face, stares at him. For a good ten minutes the man stands frozen - thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant turns and walks away.

For years after, the man often remembers and ponders the events of that day. Years later the man is walking through the zoo with his son. As they approach the elephant enclosure, one of the elephants turns and walks over to where they are standing at the rail. It stares at him and the man can't help wondering if this is the same elephant. The man climbs tentatively over the railing and makes his way into the enclosure. He walks right up to the elephant and stares back in wonder. Suddenly the elephant wraps its trunk around one of the man's legs and swings him wildly back and forth along the railing, instantly killing him.

Probably not the same elephant then.

fun, food and family

Last night Ed took Sam out to the biking trail to ride. So that meant us girls were home and needed something girly, fun to do. So I decided we would paint our nails. I did Alina's first. She sat so still and I only had to redone one fingernail. She had her little hands on her knees to dry and her toes out in front of her so they wouldn't go on the carpet. I then decided that I needed to be brave and let her paint my nails. She wanted to do all the colors, but I limited it to two. It was so much fun and even my toes got a new look.











After painting, we took pictures of each other and I'd say she did pretty good. I didn't think you could have this much fun with a two year old. :)

So that was the fun and family. Next is the food. I made this salad last week and I would eat it every night if I could. it was SOOOOooooo tasty. And so very simple. I got it off the Kraft websight and modified it some. It's called Greek Chicken Salad. Instead of frying the chicken, I grilled it. All's it is is grilled chicken, lettuce (I used Romaine), olives, cut up tomatoes, cucumbers (I used zucchini), red onion and feta cheese. All but the chicken is mixed together with Lite Done Right Zesty Italian Dressing and then I put it on plates and cut up the chicken (which I had marinated in the same dressing before grilling) and that was it. Ed loved it and so did I. I'm making it again this week.

So there you have it. Fun with the wee little girl and a tasty recipe.

sorrow and joy

First came the sorrow. A loss.
What to say?
How to encourage?
No words, but just being present I think helped fill her void some.
Lots of hugs.
Lots of praying.
Second came the joy. 12 hours later. A new life.
How can this be?
In a matter of hours, two opposites.
Two extremes.
My heart crying with hurt and joy at the exact same time.
Incomprehendable and so very intricate of how we are made.
To feel polar opposites in one heart beat.
Intertwined with each other, yet so separate.
Sorrow and joy mingling together.

observations

This morning I decided I better do something about getting in shape and popped in the pilates tape. Both kids were up, hubby was at work and so I had an audience while working out. Phrases like "your spine is your life life. Keep it supple. Keep it strong." and "sit up straight like there is a crane pulling a string through your head". Thank you Denise Austin. I will imagine that while all of my muscles are trembling and screaming at me. All was quiet until doing scissor kicks. Then I hear this:

Sam: Mommy, you're legs are supposed to be straight like hers.
Me: (In my head I'm thinking. yes. yes I know that!) but I said: I'm trying Sam. My legs just don't go that straight.
Sam: Well, why?
Me: (with trying to breath and count and not die) Because right now, they aren't made to do that.

End of conversation. Not one minute later I hear a little voice say, "Good job mommy". Thank you my son. With those three words I was able to make it through the rest of the video. I think I should have him down there more often...

our beautiful backyard...

Is now all torn up.
We have our new septic tanks in. Ever wonder what septic tanks look like? Well today is your lucky day!!
In a matter of 5 hours, we had dump trucks in and out of our front lawn, a crane truck come in and a front loader digging. A 10 foot deep hole, no flushing of toilets or running of any water for 2 hours, and lots of noise. The new tanks remind me of coffins. My friend Becky told a coffin joke. What did one grave say to the other? There's something in you that's coffin. ok...you know...I don't know if I even got it right.
So now we have a huge pile of dirt in our yard. They still need to come out and dig up a 10 foot deep by 66 foot long hole behind the deck for the drainage field. Which means more dirt and trucks and more torn up yard. But then we can make it look nice and purty again.

This is what our yard looked like before:














This is from our bedroom window. See?? All nice and green and beeeeauuuutiful.

This is what it looked like when they installed the new tanks:














See that little hole over to the left? That's our old septic tank. Made of cement bricks. Lovely isn't it? It was hand made. Over 60 years ago. It had some issues. Maybe it'd be considered an antique and we could get a historical marker on our house...

I don't have a picture of the current state of the yard. Just imagine the above picture all filled and covered with dirt. Then a mound on top of it.

More exciting backyard adventures to come whenever they come out here and finish. The neighbor came over and asked if we were getting a pool put in. I just chuckled and said, "ummm. no".

tagged

I was tagged by my dear friend Anne with the 5 things in things things. :) So here we go.

Five things in my closet:
shoes
clothes
hat
Ed's clothes
Ed's shoes

yeah...nothing exciting there.

Five things in my fridge:
a left over piece of chicken from two weeks ago
broccoli
cheese (of assorted variety)
blueberries
two bags of lettuce

Five things in my car (truck):
two car seats
change
bottle of pink nailpolish (so I can polish my nails on the way to church Sunday mornings when we're on for playing and I wear my flip flops on stage).
nail clippers
assorted crumbs from natives eating snacks

Five things in my purse:
Uuuuuuhhhhmmmmm....I don't have a purse. haven't had one for the past 5 1/2 years. Don't even carry a diaper bag either...

That sure wasn't too bad! thanks Anne :)

recap

Our party on the 3rd was a barrel of fun. Hillbilly golf, fireworks, food, friends, and no rain! It was wonderful having a house full of people and kids running all over the place and just being able to see and hear people laughing and talking and just hanging out.

Our 4th consisted of family time. We rode our bikes to the parade, ended up with a gallon baggie full of candie and headed to another little town/village for their little fair and a hamburger. Home to crash for naps and then it was bonfire time to roast hotdogs and marshmallows. We hauled the sprinkler out (not that it's heavy by any means) and the kids eagerly donned their swim/bathing suits (in our house swimsuits are for boys and babbingsuits are for girls according to Sam). It was a great day as a family and very relaxing. A wonderful way to end a holiday.




***UPdate: here's a picture of what a hillbilly golf stand looks like... I do not have any inkling as to who these people are though... Hope this helps! :)