One Snow Day

It has been the most un-winter winter of our lives.  Finally, it snowed in March.  We played in the snow for 2 straight days:  making a snowman, throwing snowballs, and sledding down the hill behind our house.  I often wonder why we bought this house when there are too many remodeling projects (like an ENTIRE unfinished basement).  But on our snow day, I remembered.  We bought this house to be next to a park, and to have a gate in our that opens on to a HUGE sledding hill.  We walked out the door, went sledding, and came in the house for lunch--went sledding again for a few hours, came in for hot cocoa--went sledding again, and finally came in for dinner.  Noel asked if she could stay home from preschool, and being the mom I am, I gladly said yes.  Not only did she want to play in the snow--I wanted to play in the snow!  The funny thing is that out of 11 kids in her preschool, 8 other kids played hooky that day.  Glad to know I'm in good company on the snow day policy!

 (This video is of the girls sledding down the little hill in our backyard.  They did it maybe five times before advancing to the BIG hill just beyond our gate.  It was a good "starter hill", but it was so fun to go down the big hill.  Sorry--no movies of the big hill.  I was too busy sledding!)

A Slice of Our Life

I made a sort of "goal" to write on my blog once a week, but the problem is that there isn't anything big to write about this week.  There were big moments--moments where I was trying to get three kids in carseats, moments when Chaim had to wait too long to be fed, moments where Noel and Juliet wanted the same spot on the bench--but nothing that I really wanted to write a post about.  So in lieu of a post that says something really meaningful, here's a snapshot of our life.  No specific order, mind you.

Conversation with Noel:

"Mom, how old are you?"
"I'm 35."
"Wow.  That's old."
"Yup."
"You are going to die someday."

It's nice to have the perspective of a 5-year old on my age.

I worked on Monday from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. because we hosted a FAFSA night.  My mom watched the girls during the day--letting them watercolor AND make play-doh volcanos, complete with lava spewing out of the volcano.  I usually only accomplish one "crafty" thing in a day (sometimes in a week).  Scottie watched the kids when he got home.  He made pigs in a blanket for dinner, which the girls talked about for the rest of the week.  I obviously need to up my "fun meter", and throw out the sound nutrition of meal planning every once in a while.

Speaking of cooking, I made three casseroles in one week.  This is something considering that I have never used cream of mushroom soup in a recipe until now.  I loved it.  The kids loved it.  Scott loved it.  And it made the nights when Scott was at school somehow do-able.  I have never made casseroles (a very long story that could be analyzed by Freud himself), but I've luckily turned that corner in my life.  Next week:  tuna noodle casserole.  I don't know why, but I'm very intrigued by the legend of this casserole.

One day the girls were talking with Scottie, and he said something that was different than they understood.  Jules took it in stride, looked at me and said, "Mom, what do you think?"  It's nice to know that to my four-year-old, my opinion still matters. 

We had a doctor's checkup this week.  Juliet thought the eye exam was hilarious, since she had to cover up one of her eyes with a big black spoon.  She kept saying "Aaarrgghh!" and pretending to be a pirate.  I thought it was hilarious, the nurse didn't know how to make her say "star" when she pointed to the star.  Chaim was another enigma for the doctor.  He smiles and is happy all the time, loves to drool, but he had little interest in her stethoscope.  I guess most kids try to gobble it up during the exam.  According to her, he is still in the "normal range", but he needs to be doing more with his fine-motor skills.  I'm trying to not over-analyze this milestone.

And my technology triumph of the week is that I finally downloaded new games on the LeapPad.  They've had it for 13 months.  This should explain why there aren't any pictures with this post--they are on the camera, and it might be another 13 months before I download them.

Review: The Perfect Score Project

I don't write these very often...probably because I don't complete an entire book very often.  And I have never, ever posted a list of the books I've read in an entire year because the list would be embarrassingly small.  But I just finished a book that I LOVED, and had to share it.  It's called "The Perfect Score Project" by Debbie Stier.  The author took the SAT a total of SEVEN times in one year!  She was trying to help her son navigate the SAT, and found the best way was to go through the learning process with him.  The book is half manual of what to do (and even more helpful:  what not to do) and the other half her own story of the emotional ups and downs of prepping for the test.  The funny thing is that I felt like I was reading a novel.  I loved it so much that I was looking forward to middle-of-the-night feedings with Chaim, just so I could read the book more!  And even though I have never skipped to the end of the book to find out how it ended, I had to with this book.  I had to know if Debbie found that "perfect score".  Don't worry...I won't spoil it for you.  But the book is about so much more than just the "perfect score"--it's about learning and building family relationships.  And for that reason, I'm writing this review.  Because I think if it's going to help a parent and teenager have a good experience together, it's worth sharing. 

Happy Reading!

Starting

I made it on the treadmill twice this week.  It wasn't an amazing workout by any means--I walked for 20 minutes.  Slow.  As in a 20-minute mile pace.   That's right, if you've done the math, you've realized it took me 20 minutes to walk ONE mile.  And by the end, I was completely exhausted.  This getting into shape post-baby is hard.  Chaim is 5 months old, and I think walking up and down the stairs to do laundry should constitute my workout for the day.  It doesn't, I know, but it feels like it should. 

Once upon a time, pre-Chaim, I was running all the time.  One day, it just clicked in my mind that I wanted to be healthier.  Diabetes runs in my family, and suddenly I was terrified of not being able to walk with both legs in my future.  Suddenly I had willpower to say "no" to brownies, ice cream, cake--anything!  Sure, I had the occasional treat, but I was a driven woman.  I hopped on that treadmill almost everyday, went trail running whenever I could, and loved it.  It felt so good to have energy and be healthy.  I ran a half-marathon in Huntsville, and could even walk the next day! 

That's me in the gray pants:

Hooray!  I get my hug from Scottie, who had cheered for me with the kiddos.

 

 

My friend Katie had run the 5K that day, too!  She did so great!

 

And the cutest part--they let all the kids run a "mini race" around the block.  They all wore the "Number 1", since they were all going to win!  They made the race this very big deal for the kids, which Noel loved!

 

 That's Noel on the other side of me.  I had already changed clothes, but still wanted to run with her.  Halfway around the block, I was regretting my decision.  That block was harder than the entire half-marathon!

 

Her prize was orange juice...the kid couldn't have been happier!

 

Me and Candace Bahm--who ran the race with me.  Go Us!

 

 

So, that was in September 2013. 

 

And now, I've got to figure out how to find that same fire to run again.  I don't have any answers right now.  I thought they would come as I was writing this, but they didn't.  So, I'll get on that treadmill again this week, and just keep going.  Because sometimes, as I am learning, I just have to start. 

 



Something's Gotta Give

Last Tuesday, a student sat at my kitchen table working on a college application for three hours while I cooked dinner, bathed the kids, and frequently sat down to answer her questions.  On Thursday night, I stayed up until midnight editing an essay on Google Docs for another student while I munched on mini oreos to stay awake (as if I need an excuse to eat mini oreos...)  Saturday night?  Much the same.  They were frantically trying to finish essays for the big February 1st deadline of college scholarships, and my normal rule of "plan ahead" that I preach to my students got tossed out the window.  It was brutal for all of us, and things like housework and cooking fell by the sidelines. 

One day, there was a brief window where Chaim was napping, the girls were playing happily by themselves (awesome),

and I had finished editing the morning crop of essays.  I fished the cleaning bucket out of the closet and headed to the bathroom.  When I pulled out a few rags, I discovered a plastic bag that had three cans of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese Soup!  The same three cans that had mysteriously disappeared earlier in the week when I had tried to make broccoli cheese soup.  I don't know how those cans ended up in the cleaning bucket--if I knew that, I would be a rational, organized person.  As it is, I'm running around from task to task, finding cans of food in the cleaning bucket!  Alas, at that point, I took the cans to the kitchen, dumped them in the crockpot with the broccoli and onions, and frankly forgot about my earlier pursuit to clean the bathroom.

Chaim woke up, the girls wanted to play outside, and the hours rushed by marked only by diaper changes and mini-discussions on why hitting your sister may not be the best option.  Finally, we sat down to eat yummy soup for dinner and everything seemed fine.  It was only when I went to the bathroom to brush the girls' teeth before bedtime, that I re-discovered the cleaning bucket.  And so I did the normal, clear-headed thing any mom would do.  I brushed the girls' teeth, put them to bed, and left the cleaning for another day.  Because when all is said and done, something's gotta give.  Apparently in my life, that 'something' alternates between the cleaning bucket, cheddar and broccoli soup, and my memory. 

Chaim

It's probably time to tell the story about Chaim's birth.  It's been 4 months, and I'm still a little in awe of how God blessed him.  Since my uterus ruptured, his little body was fighting to survive in my body.  As he was delivered via emergency c-section, he wasn't breathing, and his heart rate was falling.  Once they were able to get his breathing up and his color back to pink, they placed a 'cooling cap' on his head, and ushered him to the NICU.  For 3 days, he had the cooling cap treatment, which is a cap placed on his head that is hooked up to a refrigeration unit.  They keep the head extremely cold so that the brain does not begin to swell.  Basically, the brain tries to over-correct itself when a baby is born without oxygen, and begins to place water on the brain.  This in turn causes brain damage.  The cooling cap makes sure that the brain stays in a stable condition and does not swell, thus minimizing and even eliminating the brain damage.  We prayed a lot during this time that his brain would be able to respond to this treatment. 

 

 Finally, after 3 days of being on the cooling cap, they took it off.  It took about 6 hours to do this, since they had to warm his head up slowly.

 And for the first time since he was born, I was able to hold my little Chaim Michael.  It was amazing to realize that both of us were going to be okay.  We still didn't have any of the tests for Chaim to confirm that his brain would function normally, but when I held him, it was like touching heaven.

 Each day, they removed more and more tubes until at last he was not hooked up with anything.  His EEG results showed that there had been trauma on the brain, and they weren't able to conclusively say if his brain would function.  That was a difficult day.  Finally, a week after he was born, he had an MRI which came back "normal".  It was a moment of pure relief and joy.  We still have to see specialists to make sure he is okay, but I feel like he is more than okay.  The cooling cap is a fairly recent treatment within the last 10 years, and they have found that newborns that would sustain moderate brain damage from birth trauma are not experiencing any sort of brain damage.  It's truly a miracle treatment, and we are so grateful for this medical advancement.

 Finally, we were able to go home.  As amazing as the NICU staff had been, we were so anxious to get this little guy home!

 Finally, the girls were able to meet their brother two weeks after he was born.  They had come to see me in the hospital once, but the rules didn't allow them to go to the NICU.  They were so relieved to come home and know that everyone was okay. 

 And suddenly, once he was home, he started growing like a weed!

 And that is how little Chaim Michael began his life.  I completely recognize I am biased, but I think he is the most amazing, handsome little boy.  Even though I'm completely exhausted from the newborn schedule, I recognize how lucky I am that I have this little one to cuddle in my arms.  We had chosen his name "Chaim" before he was born, because we loved that it is the Hebrew word for "life".  And each day, I recognize how amazing it is that we get to see Chaim alive and healthy.  L'Chaim! 

Noel's FIRST Book

I know this book doesn't have much of a plot, but I was so excited when Noel FINALLY read this book without painfully sounding out every single letter and sound!  It felt like all those days and weeks of sounding out "Sam" just might be worth it.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's totally worth it!  

 I was so proud that we called both sets of grandparents and bragged about this first reading accomplishment.  We told her preschool teacher when we dropped her off that day.  Basically, I told anyone who would listen that Noel had read her first book.  So...here it is for you to enjoy

"Sam and Mat"

 

 

Abandoned Christmas Card...Again

There's fashionably late, and then there's late late.  My attempt at sending out Christmas Cards failed (again).  I knew I wasn't going to get them out at the beginning of December or even mid-December, but I thought I could possibly squeeze them in somewhere between Christmas and New Year's.  I wrote the letter, visited the photo lab and almost placed an order for a photo-card to accompany it.  As luck would have it, we ended our year of years by all getting sick three days before Christmas.  So--big and small--here's a wrap of the year (and it won't be coming in your mailbox)...

We learned about cooling caps, NICUs, and what it means to have a miracle baby named Chaim.  We learned that being able to hold Chaim was the best moment we could have experienced.  This little guy's birth happened when Brooke's uterus ruptured at home, and a trip to the hospital ended with an emergency C-section and a 10 day stay in the NICU.  We are so grateful that God placed the nurses and doctors where we needed them to be before we even knew we needed a miracle.  Brooke and baby Chaim came through the experience with the help of many people and many prayers, and our family is very grateful for the wonder of life.

Brooke is learning how to handle 3 kids at home while still working part-time as a Scholarship Advisor (it's a slow learning curve--she is resorting to frozen dinners often).  She is learning rules of the NFL (thanks to tutorials by Scottie).  Most of all, Brooke is falling in love with her kids again now that she isn't sick from the pregnancy or worn out from the blood transfusion.  Life is good.

Scott has learned that Brooke will watch NFL if he explains the rules to Brooke.  ;-)  He has learned everything possible about cooling caps, NICU schedules, and calling for an ambulance in the middle of the night.  He also is somewhat (really) happy that Chaim is his twin--including the red hair and complexion.  We are going to buy stock in sunblock.

We learned that all rules of nutrition go out the window when you are on a flight to Florida with children.  We learned that reading a map of an amusement park is helpful during the first hour you are there--not the next day (which is how we approached it).  And finally, we learned that a day at the beach in November is a very different experience, including howling winds and frozen toes.

We have joined the craze of all things Frozen, dressing up as Elsa (Noel), Anna (Juliet), and Olaf (Chaim) for Halloween.  Noel has loved her year of preschool and is learning to read...through multiple readings of the Bob Books.  Noel thinks they are great, Brooke is ready to hide the "Sam sat. Mat sat." book after the 100th reading.  Juliet is learning how to write squiggly mountains and pretend they are letters.  The girls are pretty good at helping Mom--it now only takes 30 minutes for them to get dressed instead of the usual hour.  We're hoping to make some progress on the morning routine in 2015.

Chaim learned a lot in those first few days.  We are grateful for amazing nurses and doctors that acted very quickly to save his life, and help his brain perform normally.  As of now, he is a normal little baby.  Every moment that we have with him is a treasure.  (By the way--the name Chaim means "life" in Hebrew)

That's the year in a nutshell.  We're grateful for our family, our faith, and the gift of each day. 

Our Merry Christmas

This is what we thought Christmas would be like:

 This is what Christmas turned out to be:

 

I'll start with Christmas Eve--we ate spaghetti and meatballs, which is a dinner we have at least once a week, but it was the only thing I could think to fix.  As I started to boil the water for the spaghetti, Scott got a call from his boss that his mom had fallen in the parking lot of the store.  They spent the night at the ER where they learned her nose was broken.  On the homefront, Chaim cried while I tried to time the meatballs, pasta, and garlic bread.  At various intervals, the phone would ring and I would try to answer it.  We had just purchased smartphones, and I had absolutely no clue how to answer a call.  I kept touching the little green phone, but that didn't work.  I would try to call Scott back, but he couldn't answer the calls either.  The girls stayed busy during this chaotic night by watching Incredibles.  I know--it's not a classic Christmas movie by any stretch of the imagination, but they had watched every Christmas movie during the week of sickness, and this was their choice.  Finally, before going to bed, we put out Nilla cookies, milk, and a cough drop.  I hadn't cooked anything in a week so we resorted to Nillas, and the cough drop was Juliet's idea.  In her words:  "I'll bet Santa has a cough like us--he'll like the cough drop."  He did.  To complete it, the only special plate we could find was my Hanukkah plate with Hebrew writing and a menorah.  The girls thought it was pretty, and that the writing was some form of elfish language.  Again--I saw no reason to correct them.  Before putting the girls to bed, I told them the Christmas story using their Fischer Price Little People Nativity set.  They went to bed happy, even with their sniffles and coughs.

Christmas Day was great--opened presents, played with the presents, and stayed in our jammies all day long.  This was part because we wanted to, and part because none of us had any energy from being sick.  We watched the girls' new DVD, Snow White, while inhaling VapoRub.  For Christmas dinner, the girls had hot dogs, which they considered the best Christmas dinner ever.  Scott and I had ribs, which sounds better than it was.  It was my first time making ribs, and I thought more dry rub was a good thing.  It most definitely is NOT a good thing; the heat was so much we literally cried while eating them.   

Finally, we said goodnight and wished each other a final Merry Christmas.  Can't wait to see what happens for New Year's...

How Long?

Days turned to weeks, turned to months, turned to many months.  I wish I could say that I was travelling the world, or we were in the middle of building a house, or that we had a baby.  But the reality is that the furthest I've traveled in the last eight months was to Provo, Utah (the least exotic place I know), the biggest home project we have done was to install a new sink in the kitchen (which I did not help with at all, and actually took the girls on a picnic so that Scott could work), and finally--we are still a family of four...

Picture taken in August of last year--but I think we all basically look the same.  Well, except me.  That is where our "family of four" will be changing.  I'm officially one trimester down, and baby #3 is due in September.  I am one of those lucky women that gains weight as soon as she gets pregnant, breaks out in the worst case of acne, and is sick for 9 months.  Is it any wonder that it's been three years since I signed up for this?

We told the girls on Monday:  we combined it with Family Home Evening, and had a little lesson on families.  We're still not sure if they understand the concept, because even after we explained that the baby will be a part of our family, Noel's one question was "How Long?"  We told her the baby was due in September, to which she said, "No--how long will the baby stay with us?"  According to her, a rent-a-baby situation would be ideal.  Juliet doesn't believe there is a baby in my tummy, since she can't see it.  She just thinks I'm getting really chubby.  Isn't that nice?  They are both relieved that the reason I am sick is for the baby; however, the concern is now entirely for the baby.  If I throw up--no big deal, just as long as the baby in my tummy is doing just fine.

So...there is the update on our life.  Hope this update was somewhat worth waiting for:-)

Old?!

I always hate it when people say, "Oh, I'm getting so old."  I refuse to be old!  I refuse to feel old!  Which is why, against the law of physics, Scott and I went down several slides at 7 Peaks in a double tube, flipped over twice, and are both now covered in bruises.

We have no picture or video of this hilarious water park experience...but you can imagine my head under Scott's knee with the tube on top of both of us.  We flailed around corners and down 10-foot drops, trying to turn around before we were ejected from the slide to the pool.  Our entrance was so horrible the lifeguard offered to help us find an EMT.

For some reason, we went down another slide.  Same outcome.

I am now saying, "Wow, I'm old."  Old enough to be okay with hanging out in the kiddie pool with the girls.

The Genius of John Adams (and David McCullough)

Everyday for the past six months, I've stepped on the treadmill, turned on my iPod, and hammered out several miles while listening to John Adams.

In my past life, I taught history.  I loved parts of it...other parts I endured.  Sorry to those that love Chinese history, but it was incredibly difficult to get tenth graders and myself to distinguish between the Ming, Qin, and Xin dynasties.  On the other hand, I love American History, specifically the era of the Revolutionary War.

It was quite a shock to realize how little I knew about John Adams.  What wasn't a shock was to read an amazing book by David McCullough.  His ability to weave history into something real, present, and captivating is a gift.  One of my favorite talks by McCullough, The Glorious Cause of America, focuses in on 1776.  I listened to it several times, then finally jumped into John Adams, anxious for more.

I learned so much from the example of John Adams, realizing how ignorant I have been of his life. My favorite lesson came early in the book:  both John and Abigail would repeatedly quote, "Be Good and Do Good".  Living this motto, they repeatedly sacrificed their own desires and wishes to serve America.  I think of myself as patriotic, but I realize that I have much to BE and to DO if I am to live up to the patriotic standard that John Adams and others like him set.

One depressing part about reading the book came on the last page.  I felt like I was losing a tutor and inspiring friend.  I want to read it again-now-and learn everything I missed on the first reading.  I heard it said once that a book that didn't require a second reading probably wasn't worth reading at all.  I agree with that:  if I can learn everything in a first reading, it probably isn't that great of a book.  On the other hand, a book like John Adams can't possibly be understood in one reading, and therefore has much to offer.  So, when I read it again, I'll be on the watch for all the stories and strength of example I missed on the first reading.  One thing will be the same:  David McCullough will draw me into another time and place, helping me live in my time and place as a better and stronger person.  

Check these out---awesome blogs

I have a list of blogs I love--most of them are family blogs and incredibly funny, entertaining, and keep me smiling at my friends.  Then--there are two blogs written by people I've never met, but wish I could.  I come back to these again and again, because their thoughts are always fresh and genuine, inspiring and unique.  Check these out:  

This Too is written by Melissa Sarno, an amazing writer that lives in New York City.  Her posts are about books, the city, her life, and writing.  The writing is simultaneously simple and elegant; every time I read her words, I'm inspired to write more and write better.  

 Study Hacks is by Cal Newport, my current favorite author.  (I wrote a post recently about his most current book So Good They Can't Ignore You).  I've read all his books, check in with his blog often, and am always enlightened by his theories.  Even better--I like how his theories improve the quality of life and work.  What's not to like about that?

Hope you'll enjoy these blogs as much as I do.