A new strategy for whining

This is making me crazy, and I really do mean crazy:

"AggiEEEEEE! Don't take my car from meEEEEEE!"
"MommEEEEE!!!! Seth hurt meEEEEEEEEEE!"

Wow, they sure know how to hit that perfect pitch, the one that makes the little hairs on my arms stand up and my neck twitch. They sound like squawking chickens, and it is making me a little nutty.

How nutty? Nutty enough to try this:
"Kids, if you are going to talk to me like squawking chickens, I am only going to reply like a chicken." They laugh and roll their eyes, not taking me seriously.

Then, five minutes later...
"MommEEE! I was tryEEEEng to make my bed but AggiEEEE-"
SQUAWK!!!! SQUAWK SQUAWK! says mommy.
Giggle, deep breath, then in a normal voice, "Mommy, I was trying to make my bed but Aggie wants the pillow on the top but I rEEAAly want it- (slipping into whining again)
SQUUUUAAAAAAWWK!!!! say I.
It took about five tries, but he finally got the whole story out without a single whine. I then stopped acting like a chicken myself and helped him solve the problem rationally.

Before long, it was Aggie screeching, "MommEEEEE!"
SQUUUAAAWK! I replied.
She suppressed her smile and tried hard to reign in the whining, but could only get to word number three before she was assualted by mommy squawks once again.
"Mommy." she said with a serious face. "I am trying to tell you something."
"Alright, then use a nice voice to tell me."
"Mommy. I was going down the slide with my car but Seth is trying to go up and I REEEEly don't-"
SQQQQQQUUUUAAAWWWKKK!! SQUAWK! SQUAWK!
(deep breath) "and I really don't want him to do that but he woooooooon't-"
SQUAWK!
Exasperated, she walked away from me.
Calmly, she said to her brother, "Seth, could you please stop going up the slide so I can go down?"
"Ok Aggie," he smiled.

I chuckled (or maybe I clucked?) as they ran off together.
Will I have the guts to keep this up in public?

pre-vacation vacation

This week I am enjoying a pre-vacation vacation! Grammy Pammy has Lorraine, Marcus and Eldon up in Michigan! They are enjoying family time (and exhausting their Grammy and Bump I am sure) while they wait for us to join them this Sunday.

Meanwhile, Aggie and Seth and I are having a ball! (When we are not coughing and blowing our noses at least.) We are doing very civilized things: we play board games, we go grocery shopping, we go to the park without a diaper bag, we even eat in public! Today we went to the library, and we even got to READ BOOKS while we were AT the library! That might sound pretty mundane, but that is usually something I do not try when I also have an Eldon and a Marcus on the loose!


Here are some pictures from the air show we went to two weeks ago. It sure was hot that day!

These are the three that are gone... my what a big hole there is in our home when some are missing!

I am getting packed for Michigan and preparing for the LWML conference this weekend. I will leave tomorrow, then Josh and the kids will meet me on Sunday and we will head to MI for vacation! First we are going to "Bump's cabin" in Northern Michigan. The weather said to expect highs in the seventies and lows around 55/60. That sounds SO nice!

PS The picture at the top was FOUR years ago, when Lorraine and Aggie were flower girls in Aunt Katie's wedding! I think that is the last time they actually wore peacock feathers in their hair!

benign

What a wonderful word. Benign.

Pathology report is back, and all is well.

The problem is still a mystery, and the plan is now to attempt pain control with ibuprofen.

Praising God for the gift of life, husband, daddy, ... May He restore his child Josh to full health soon.

Josh update

Josh is home from surgery and taking it easy.

Much to the doctor's surprise, it was not a hernia. No sign whatsoever of a hernia. Appendix, everything else looked fine.

So what is it? We don't really know. She did find one small spot, about the size of the tip of your thumb, she has no idea what it is or whether it was causing his pain. So it's off to pathology with the whatever-it-is and off to bed for Josh.

Of course we are fighting with the odd sense of Deja vu that comes with this news... Where have we heard those words before? A small spot, may or may not be the problem, most likely benign, wait and see, etc...

Please pray that he has a smooth recovery, and for peace as we await results! (A few days to a week!)

Please pray for Josh!

This afternoon we are heading to Columbus Hospital so that Josh can have surgery. They "think" they pain he has been having is a rare kind of hernia that does not show up on tests; so they skipped the tests and going to go a-looking (and hopefully a-fixing) today. Please keep him in prayer!

He is determined to preach this sunday despite the surgery; an idea which caused the doctor to laugh- so we will see! Please pray that God watches over him while he is in surgery- and provides for all of his needs including pain management! God is already caring for the rest of the family as well, and so we are sure He will continue to do that while daddy recovers.

Eldon's opinions

Typically I cut off the baby bottles at about 1 yr of age and switch to the sippy cup. Well, my few half-hearted attempts with Eldon have resulted in much screaming and more than one sippy cup thrown at my head.

This makes me slightly nervous, as I know the currently location of ony one of his preferred bottles. Will he go on strike if we lose that one?

This week, Mr. Opinion alerted me to an alternative to both the bottle and the sippy cup:

And so you see my backup plan, until I decide the bottle battle is worth picking.

Girls weekend!

We had a great time at Camp Lakeview! On the way home I asked the girls what their most FAVORITE part of camp was, and they came up with a list of about 18 favorites! Here are a few:

Horseback riding! Aggie was not so sure about it at first and begged me to ride with her, so I did my best... of course, they chose the biggest tallest horse to carry a load such as we, and as I attempted to mount it I had a moment of "OH no! My leg doesn't move the way it did a month ago!" But somehow I got up there, and went with Aggie crammed in the saddle in front of me! I think we should both get an extra merit badge for that one!

THE SLIP N SLIDE! The girls were picturing something like the one we have at home, but of course the one at camp is enormous and awesome! Here they are waiting nervously in line the first time (above), but after one time they both agreed it was AWESOME and CAN WE DO IT AGAIN MOMMY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE????

Swimming- we went four times I think! It was extremely hot so I was happy to get in with them on Saturday. Lorraine has conquered her fear of going underwater and LOVES her swim goggles (I can't wait to use the picture above at her graduation parties, hahaha!) She jumped off the dock, the float, and worked on her unique swimming style most of the time. Aggie was the brave one who first got up the nerve to go under the dock (why is that so creepy and scary?) and also had a blast noodling around.

They even talked me in to letting them swim on sunday morning before church, so they were in the water at aout 830, it was about 60 degrees and windy... I did not join them that day! Of course they were blue and shivering afterwards so I put them in the hot showers where they promptly turned into teenagers- "I'm not ready to get out yet mommy, five more minutes?"

I went back to the cabin to get their dry clothes and even there I could hear them singing in the showers at the top of their lungs! Of course later when I told them this, Lorraine swears it was only Aggie who sang!

The Chippa-Chicks by their Chippewa cabin!

Other favorites: the pancakes and chocolate milk, the silly games, the smores, the campfire, walking through the woods with flashlights, playing in the muddy creek, singing on stage at the ampitheatre for mommy, playing with the parachute, sleeping on top bunkbeds again, making new friends, eating ice cream

When can we go again, mommy?

PS Josh thinks it is a little mean of me to post the picture of Lorraine in her goggles... sure, it's goofy, but it makes me PROUD! My princess/cheerleader daughter is also capable of being a SWIMMER! Now I just have to teach her to spit like one! :)

Still here!

Yes, I am still here and everything's fine, just very busy! Marcus in the picture above says it all I think... "My parents are exhausted!"

He sure has been creating adventures of all kinds in this house lately... I know it is going to be a rough day when he wakes up with that "look" on his face. I have not yet found a good strategy for dealing with him on the days when he wakes up with the devil in his eyes...

It's especially chaotic considering Seth and Eldon are also hitting a new and intense boundary-testing stage! Come on boys, back off! Mommy's boundaries are getting TIRED! Many times this month I have complained, "These boys aregoing to be the death of me!!!"

But of course they have their sweet moments too. Eldie and I take a break to recharge and snuggle...






I cannot blame my lack of posting on Marcus entirely. I am as bad as the kids when it comes to summertime! The weather has been so nice- hot but beautiful- that we have spent as much time as possible playing outside, at the lake, whatever. I tend to ignore my usual duties when the weather turns this way!

More often than even complaining about the boys, I have found myself thanking God that this summer we get to do whatever it is we are doing WITHOUT seizures! Yes I am busy, but I do not have stress shooting out of my fingertips, not even around water! Praise God!

Ugh, see what I mean? Marcus sure does look cute... and doesn't his smile make you almost not notice the way he's pulling his sister's hair?

This weekend I get to take the girls to Camp Lakeview! We will be gone Saturday to Sunday- and while I am not sure how sleeping in a bunk bed is going to go, I am really looking forward to some mother daughter time!