The Incredible Growing Ear

On Saturday evening Elijah was bit behind his ear by some bug. He has a tendancy to react strongly to bites. Sunday morning I noticed his ear looked like it was sticking out a bit but I thought it was his hair making it look that way (he really needs a haircut). A couple hours later as we were dropping him off at Children's Church I noticed it was sticking out even more, giving him an Opie-like appearance. Later that afternoon it morphed from Opie to Ross Perot. Benedryl didn't do anything. Some internet research reassured us that its normal for ears to swell from bug bites. Yesterday it was back to Opie, and finally today he is back to our regular Elijah :D Now I wish I would of taken a picture.

Such a Boy...

Today on our walk the boys and I stopped to smell some tulips. I asked Isaac how they smelled and he says "they smell how they are supposed to smell".

Take A Peek...

Over at Heather's site for some big news! :D

Finally...100 Things About Me

1. I'm a Christian, although I don't affiliate myself with any denomination.
2. I'm about 80% Libertarian, 20% Republican
3. Growing up, I couldn't wait to be a mom.
4. I always saw myself with girls though.
5. Now that I have my boys, I wouldn't change a thing.
6. I suffer from migraines with aura.
7. I'm 5'1 (and 3/4s)
8. I like being "petite"
9. I am a redhead
10. I refer to my hair as "copper" not "red" because its not "red".
11. I love to read.
12. "Ramona the Brave" was the first chapter book I read (in 4th grade).
13. I love to sew.
14. I don't scrapbook.
15. I went to Haiti for 2 weeks in 1996 on a short term missions trip.
16. I have never complained about lack of anything (food, money,clothes, space) since.
17. I prefer having a few really close friends to many not-so-close friends.
18. I am very good at making decisions that are not based on emotions.
19. Accuracy is very very important to me, I don't exaggerate.
20. I have a very hard time watching movies at home although I love to watch them in the theatre.
21. English has always been my strongest subject, but not spelling.
22. I love medical/health information.
23. When I was about 12, I read an entire home health encylcopedia.
24. I used to have an irrational fear of going to the doctors.
25. After my first pregnancy, and all those OB appointments, I no longer do.
26. I don't wear jewelry (except my wedding ring)
27. I do love wearing things in my hair though, specially sparkly things.
28. I don't like red meat, although I will eat a very well cooked burger.
29. My mom used to make me meatless pasties ( a regional thing).
30. I have 4 sisters, 2 brothers
31. I worked for a year in high school as a cashier at a grocery store.
32. I don't really enjoy cooking.
33. I do enjoy baking.
34. I love to hang clothes on the line.
35. Pepsi - yes, Coke - no.
36. I like broccoli.
37. I have two associate degrees and one certificate from Lake Superior State University.
38. I love to shop for great deals.
39. I almost always order chicken at a restaruant.
40. I avoid sunlight (the whole redhead thing)
41. I walk a lot, every neighbor I talk to comments on my walking.
42. I own six pair of shoes.
43. I don't own a purse.
44. Until two years ago, I didn't own a hair dryer.
45. I can french braid my own hair.
46. I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for six years.
47. That's not a complaint, I love both.
48. I try to read my Bible everyday. Sometimes I do great...sometimes not.
49. I have never lived more than a couple miles from one of the Great Lakes.
50. I made all the curtains in our home except for the ones in our bedroom.
51. In college I took Advanced Writing for fun ( I was the only one in the class that didn't need it as a requirement).
52. I also took Beginner Piano for fun.
53. I was in the Honors English program at college, however, I needed to take remedial Algebra.
54. Whenever we buy something that needs to be assembled, I usually do it.
55. I love to paint my toenails and wear sandals.
56. I saved many of the stuffed animals from my childhood, the boys love to play with them.
57. I don't like seafood.
58. I like milk chocolate but not dark.
59. I like neutral colors in my home.
60. I love surprises.
61. I rarely eat breakfast.
62. I was a cheerleader my senior year in high school so I could go to all of Jeremiah's basketball games.
63. I don't like action movies.
64. I like taking tests/quizzes.
65. I like lilacs, but not lilac perfumes/lotions.
66. I read at least 3 NEWS sites each day.
67. I rarely cancel/back out of anything.
68. I taught myself how to write basic HTML 8 years ago.
69. I can say "no" to salespeople.
70. I once memorized the Hebrew alphabet.
71. I have listened to Contemporary Christian Music since high school.
72. I couldn't tell you the name of one current Top 40 Song.
73. I like Salt & Vinegar chips.
74. I forgot my own wedding anniversary last year.
75. I never participate in email forwards (petitions, "send this to your 8 best friends" ect...)
76. I had a mole removed from my shoulder 4 years ago.
77. I have no grandparents alive.
78. In Jr. High I used to get checks in the "socializes during class" section of my report card.
79. I had perfect attendance in 8th grade.
80. I missed less than five days of high school.
81. In elementary, I never won ribbons on Track and Field day.
82. I don't believe in love at first sight.
83. I don't believe in karma.
84. I had my first root canal last year, it wasn't that bad.
85. 3rd Grade was my favorite.
86. I'm sodium sensitive, salt raises my blood pressure.
87. I handle the finances.
88. I practice Attachment Parenting.
89. I have terrible handwriting.
90. I have 11 nieces and nephews - 12 in July.
91. I can't wear earrings, my ears are too sensitive.
92. I pay money to download a song instead of buy the whole CD.
93. When I was little my dolls were named Lucy, Diana,Bud and Jennifer.
94. I have been using the same brand of shampoo since high school (I try different brands but always go back to Sauve 2 in 1)
95. I wear my one month disposable contacts for 2 months.
96. In eighth grade I took pictures and developed film for the yearbook.
97. I'm not a good singer.
98. I think my kids are the best in the world (as every mom does).
99. I have no allergies that I am aware of.
100. This list took me four days to write.

Tag!

Sandy tagged me!

The instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

This was kind of tricky. The closest book to me didn't have a 5th sentence on page 123, the second closest book didn't have a page 123! So the third closest book is Before Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert.

Page 123, sentence five:
Even a small child may want to help you cut up a banana, apple pieces, or other soft food with a dull butter knife.

I tag Melissa.

Just had to share a pic of Sammy's new outfit. The overalls are actually shorts (they look much longer in this pic).  

31 Weeks 

Housecleaning

So as I was scrubbing the house today I was thinking about all the places that nobody notices when its clean, however if it was dirty they would. For instance...walls. As I was scrubbing a section of wall the boys scribbled on I realized that nobody would look at this wall and say "my, how clean!", but if I left the crayon on the wall it would stand out like a sore thumb. Today I'm catching up on those spots. You know how it goes, its a thankless job...

Ultrasound

This morning I went to the hospital for what I thought would be a quick ultrasound to make sure that my placenta has moved away from my cervix (it has). Imagine my delight when I found out they just got a new 3D ultrasound machine and needed a volunteer for training purposes! So I got an extra long ultrasound while the techs were trained on their new machine.

3D Ultrasound - hands and feet 

3D ultrasound Yes, those are his hands
curled up under his chin! How adorable is that?

Recap of the past eight years...

Today is my 28th birthday. Sounds old, but I'm assuming I don't look it since I still get "you don't even look old enough to have kids" comments all the time. Yesterday I was thinking about all the things that have been squeezed into my life since I turned 20. Here's a recap:

* May 15th, 1997. I can still remember eating birthday cake at the Athletic Office where I worked during college. The subject of conversation was my upcoming wedding.

*June 21st, 1997. Married Jeremiah, my high school sweetheart. Sounds young, but we heard the word "finally" alot from the people who knew us five years as a couple.

*May 1998. Finished my two associate degrees from Lake Superior State University.

*June-Aug 1998. Admin assistant at the UP Diabetes Outreach Center in the Soo. I loved this job, unfortunately they closed that office only a few months after I started.

*Aug 1998-Dec 10th 1999. Worked for Tech Team doing tech support for Gateway computers. The job was pretty stressful, but I loved the people I worked with. All in all I enjoyed working there. Notice I worked until 2 days before Isaac was born, having a job during your first pregnancy is nice.

*Dec 12, 1999. Baby boy #1, Isaac Payton arrives!

*Aug 2000. Move to TC.

*Jan 2002. Baby boy #2, Elijah Peter arrives!

*June 2002. Move into our first house.

*Aug 2003. Baby boy #3, Samuel Philip arrives!

Which brings us to May 2005, just a few months from baby boy #4. Its been a busy decade!

What A Day

Yesterday morning Jeremiah packed up all the boys and off they went for an outing. Hours later they return home with a Birthday cake (my bday is Sun), ice cream and Kohls gift card for me. "You have to share that cake mommy" Elijah informed me. So we ate cake. Than on top of having the whole morning to myself I left to go shopping by myself. I ended up getting some new walking shoes. Not the most exciting purchase, but I walk 3 miles almost every day and my old shoes were two years old so I was needing some new ones.

Last night another homeschooling mom from our church called and asked if I was interested in purchasing the phonics program they used to teach their children to read. Now, this family has 6 kids and they are in the library every week after church with armloads of books. We decided that, yes, we definitely wanted to use the same program they did.

That's how we ended up at the annual homeschool book sale. Its an event at the end of every school year where homeschooling families buy/sell used curriculum/supplies/books ect. Homeschool curriculum is very overwhelming. There is a million different programs, curriculums, methods you can use. We ended up getting the phonics program that we went to get.

Bet you didn't think there was this much "liberal" in me

Your Political Profile

Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

29 weeks! 

Definitely His Mother's Child

Yesterday I received a Meijer magazine in the mail. In the middle of it was a little booklet of coupons, I quickly glanced thru the coupons and didn't see anything I needed so I asked Isaac to throw the magazine away. "But, mommy there are coupons in it!" he said. "That's okay, I don't want any of them, go ahead and throw it away" I replied. So he threw the magazine away.

An hour later, as I was picking up the living room I found the booklet of coupons, carefully ripped out of the magazine and sitting safely on the couch. He just could not bear to throw away those coupons.

No Maam, We Keep them Locked in the House

Some background...In Michigan there is a "school readiness" program called Way To Grow for kids birth to 5. I'm not knockin' this program, they do lots of fun activities. Occasionally they team up with the Little Wigglers program at our local library so we attend those activities. In the past I have filled out a paper and I get their calendar in the mail ect...

So, earlier this week the new coordinator calls me about Elijah. She wasn't concerned about Isaac, since he is 5 she assumed he was safely in the care of the public schools. I explained that we will be homeschooling, and that we generally don't attend many Way to Grow activities accept when they happen with Little Wigglers.

"Oh good!" She said "Little Wigglers is a great program, so you do get Elijah out to something." Since, up to this point, the conversation was going okay I refrained from replying "well, we generally like to keep the boys locked in our home so they can't interact with society, but we make an exception for Little Wigglers."

The ironic thing is that the main reason we don't attend more Way To Grow activities, is because I don't want to add another activity to the boys schedule. They average anywhere between 8-12 hours a week with other children (about half structured, half not), call me crazy but I feel that's enough for young children.

Busy drawing...