June 4, 2006
Hello Everyone,
The past week has been no good for me in terms of computer time. Mosey makes it impossible to type. Whenever I pull out the keyboard tray, he KICKS it back in (he's generally on my lap), or else pounds on it. So I've only been able to mouse around and surf the net a little.
Tonight, instead of trying to recap the past week, I'm going to brag a bit about my kids. Like all mothers, I think my kids are just the smartest, cutest, and most clever. Here are a few things I'm proud of them about:
Brigham and Joseph love learning. I've been giving them reading lessons and they are catching on really quick, especially Joseph. They also have an Animal book that we read from every night, instead of storybooks. It is a really cool book with 2 page spreads on all sorts of animals, from protists to elephants. It really is geared more to probably 9+ year olds, but Brigham and Joseph understand almost all of it, and what they don't understand, they ask me to explain. Every night each boy gets to pick one animal to read about, and then each pick a scripture story. Last night Joseph didn't want to read about an animal and instead he chose to read about Volcanoes from the encyclopedia. There is no doubt they are Ben's boys. They have also pretty much entirely given up cartoons, opting instead for Animal Planet during TV time. I really like Animal Planet. They don't have the obnoxious commercials like on Nick or Cartoon Network. And lots of the shows are truly educational. Joseph likes it especially, and remembers so much from it.
They heard a commercial on the radio about the Animal Planet Expo that came to Miami last weekend, and really wanted to go. So on Saturday we drove down to Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami and spent about 3 hours at the Expo. It was free, and really fun! We saw a frisbee dog show, a couple of live animal shows, the boys got their faces painted and their pictures taken with a digital image of Jeff Corwin (the boys' favorite Animal Planet show), and got to meet and get the autograph of Moe Rocca, the Animal Planet "celebrity" that was there (he has a show on Sundays called "Whoa Sunday").
Brigham and Joseph have also been playing together so great this summer. Every morning they are up together inventing some game. This morning they got a spool of my thread and made a "spiderweb" that went all around the entire house-- in every room upstairs and downstairs. It was quite impressive. Brigham also used the spiders he got at the dollar store last week and put them on the web in various places. I really haven't had to restrict TV at all the past couple of months because they just find things to keep them busy-- coloring, building legos, playing games, etc. Now is the time that I REALLY appreciate having twins because they entertain each other so well. And not too much fighting either.
And they are making an effort to eat healthier. They heard me talking about how Rosalynde's kids eat really well, and so they are now taking pride in drinking water, eating oatmeal for breakfast, trying vegetables (not always eating them, but at least trying them). They are really growing up.
And Mosey is growing up too! He is well on his way to being potty trained. He's been going in the potty pretty consistently (pee anyway), with fewer accidents each day. No accidents yesterday at all. I do have to buy more diapers tomorrow, but maybe it will be the last box of diapers I ever buy!! Amazing. He is getting to be a very good talker, too. Sometimes a little too good. This afternoon he actually began shouting at Ben! He wanted a blanket and started shouting, "I WANNA BLANKET!!" This is pretty normal for a 2 1/2 year old, I guess, but it shocked Ben and me, coming from our previously quiet and mild-mannered little guy. He's also earned himself a few timeouts in the past week... He's experimenting with being stubborn.
He has recently been really into playing with clay. I bought some modeling clay a couple weeks ago, and he has been carrying that stuff around pretty much constantly. He makes different shapes with it and sticks them together. He also chose a little bag of plastic cats for his dollar store purchase, and he's been carrying those around with him too (along with the clay). He loves those cats. He is shaping up to be just as much an animal lover as his brothers. Oh yeah, he also loves trains! A couple of years ago when Ben and I went to Pennsylvania, I bought this wooden train set at an Amish woodworking store. The big boys never really got into them, but Mosey loves those trains. He puts them together and crawls all around the house pulling the train along. And today he discovered a few magnetic trains in the toybox, and he had to carry those around with him, even to church. It is so fun to watch him discover things like that.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures from this past week. Everyone have a great Monday!!
(the pictures that go with this post are down below under the "May 2006" topics.)
Monday, February 19, 2007
May 30, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Quick update from the weekend. Saturday we had a barbecue at our house with several families from our ward. It was fun and the kids all actually played together quite well and let the adults talk. Amazing. We all (well, at least I) ate WAY too much and I felt sick that evening. I did a short "photo shoot" of all the kids who were there (at least, the ones who wanted to cooperate) to try and work on my lighting. I discovered I desperately need a grey card for my white balance!
In the late afternoon we walked around Rock Creek with the Curtises and stopped at the dinosaur park for the kids to play for a while. It had been quite hot and muggy that whole day, although threatening to rain the whole day as well, but at the park a nice breeze blew in and I savored the last vestiges of spring. I think summer is officially here.
Sunday I gave my first ever relief society lesson. How have I been in relief society for 12 years and never given a lesson? I'm not a teacher but was asked to substitute. The lesson was on Creating a Gospel Sharing Home, from the talk by Elder Ballard this last conference. I think it went really well, mostly because I tried hard to incorporate the things Ben taught in his teacher enrichment class he just finished up. Thanks Ben! We had leftovers for dinner plus corn on the cob that the boys had asked for when they saw it at Sam's Club on Friday. Corn on the cob makes me really miss Utah! I also made blueberry cobbler which was really good. It was meant to be blueberry cake, but it sort of fell, or at least failed to totally rise and was more of a cobbler. I did the old yellow cake mix plus 12 ounces of diet sprite. I poured the batter in a bundt cake pan and then sprinkled on a bunch of frozen blueberries-- probably about a cup. Then baked at 350 for 45 minutes. I think it failed to rise properly because I couldnt' find my beaters and so I just mixed it by hand and it probably didn't get mixed enough. Maybe the blueberries messed things up too. But in any case, it turned out much better than a blueberry cake and it was all gone by the end of the night.
Monday Ben let me sleep in till 10:30. When I got up the boys and I did a major cleanup of the downstairs and then we went to the Embassy Lakes pool to swim. There were a bunch of people there, because of the holiday, but it was still fun. We were there probably 2 hours and then the clouds started to roll in and we were tired, so we headed home. At 4:30 we all piled into the van and drove up to Plantation to meet up with a family that I was scheduled to do pictures for, and we then caravaned up to Deerfield Beach. The weather was perfect up there, the lighting was great, and I got some good pictures. The only problem was the mom trying to get her kids to look at the camera and smile! Her 4 year old was giving typical 4 year old fake smiles and driving her crazy. I probably could have gotten some natural smiles better if she hadn't been bugging him, but that's ok. I still got some good ones. After we were done the boys and Ben went swimming in the ocean for a while and we had a picnic dinner. Once it got dark we headed on home.
Today was a great day! We all got up, had breakfast, did some things around the house, and then went to the park. The boys went wading/swimming in the lake, chased ducks, climbed on rocks, played on the playground, practiced swinging by themselves, and helped me make braided grass belts, necklaces, headbands, bracelets, and anklets. They were dressing up as Indians, and afterwards they found old palm fronds to use as spears and went a few rounds "slaying" each other. They were pretty sure anyone who saw them would be so surprised to see real Indians in Rock Creek! I told them that their Grandma Frandsen grew up on Indian reservations, and now they think she must be an expert on all things Indian. I told them maybe she would make her really good Indian fry bread when we go to her house.
Back at home we finally had lunch (we were at the park till nearly 3:00 PM), and then the boys played outside in the hose until Ben came home from work.
So, that was our weekend. Oh yeah, on Monday I videotaped the boys singing "Proud to be an American." I thought it was appropriate for Memorial Day. They are so cute singing it! I need to figure out how to get the video on the computer. It is a digital video camcorder, but still uses tapes, so a bit confusing. I need to dig out the manual and figure that out.
Well, I'm tempted to stay up later and proof pictures, but I'm going to bed instead. I'm trying hard not to get back into a cycle of staying up too late and then suffering during the day.
Oh, one more thing! Mosey peed in the potty again today (he did a few weeks ago as well, but that was pretty much a fluke), and was very proud of himself. I think I'm going to really try over the next few weeks and see if I can get him trained. I think he's ready.
Hello Everyone,
Quick update from the weekend. Saturday we had a barbecue at our house with several families from our ward. It was fun and the kids all actually played together quite well and let the adults talk. Amazing. We all (well, at least I) ate WAY too much and I felt sick that evening. I did a short "photo shoot" of all the kids who were there (at least, the ones who wanted to cooperate) to try and work on my lighting. I discovered I desperately need a grey card for my white balance!
In the late afternoon we walked around Rock Creek with the Curtises and stopped at the dinosaur park for the kids to play for a while. It had been quite hot and muggy that whole day, although threatening to rain the whole day as well, but at the park a nice breeze blew in and I savored the last vestiges of spring. I think summer is officially here.
Sunday I gave my first ever relief society lesson. How have I been in relief society for 12 years and never given a lesson? I'm not a teacher but was asked to substitute. The lesson was on Creating a Gospel Sharing Home, from the talk by Elder Ballard this last conference. I think it went really well, mostly because I tried hard to incorporate the things Ben taught in his teacher enrichment class he just finished up. Thanks Ben! We had leftovers for dinner plus corn on the cob that the boys had asked for when they saw it at Sam's Club on Friday. Corn on the cob makes me really miss Utah! I also made blueberry cobbler which was really good. It was meant to be blueberry cake, but it sort of fell, or at least failed to totally rise and was more of a cobbler. I did the old yellow cake mix plus 12 ounces of diet sprite. I poured the batter in a bundt cake pan and then sprinkled on a bunch of frozen blueberries-- probably about a cup. Then baked at 350 for 45 minutes. I think it failed to rise properly because I couldnt' find my beaters and so I just mixed it by hand and it probably didn't get mixed enough. Maybe the blueberries messed things up too. But in any case, it turned out much better than a blueberry cake and it was all gone by the end of the night.
Monday Ben let me sleep in till 10:30. When I got up the boys and I did a major cleanup of the downstairs and then we went to the Embassy Lakes pool to swim. There were a bunch of people there, because of the holiday, but it was still fun. We were there probably 2 hours and then the clouds started to roll in and we were tired, so we headed home. At 4:30 we all piled into the van and drove up to Plantation to meet up with a family that I was scheduled to do pictures for, and we then caravaned up to Deerfield Beach. The weather was perfect up there, the lighting was great, and I got some good pictures. The only problem was the mom trying to get her kids to look at the camera and smile! Her 4 year old was giving typical 4 year old fake smiles and driving her crazy. I probably could have gotten some natural smiles better if she hadn't been bugging him, but that's ok. I still got some good ones. After we were done the boys and Ben went swimming in the ocean for a while and we had a picnic dinner. Once it got dark we headed on home.
Today was a great day! We all got up, had breakfast, did some things around the house, and then went to the park. The boys went wading/swimming in the lake, chased ducks, climbed on rocks, played on the playground, practiced swinging by themselves, and helped me make braided grass belts, necklaces, headbands, bracelets, and anklets. They were dressing up as Indians, and afterwards they found old palm fronds to use as spears and went a few rounds "slaying" each other. They were pretty sure anyone who saw them would be so surprised to see real Indians in Rock Creek! I told them that their Grandma Frandsen grew up on Indian reservations, and now they think she must be an expert on all things Indian. I told them maybe she would make her really good Indian fry bread when we go to her house.
Back at home we finally had lunch (we were at the park till nearly 3:00 PM), and then the boys played outside in the hose until Ben came home from work.
So, that was our weekend. Oh yeah, on Monday I videotaped the boys singing "Proud to be an American." I thought it was appropriate for Memorial Day. They are so cute singing it! I need to figure out how to get the video on the computer. It is a digital video camcorder, but still uses tapes, so a bit confusing. I need to dig out the manual and figure that out.
Well, I'm tempted to stay up later and proof pictures, but I'm going to bed instead. I'm trying hard not to get back into a cycle of staying up too late and then suffering during the day.
Oh, one more thing! Mosey peed in the potty again today (he did a few weeks ago as well, but that was pretty much a fluke), and was very proud of himself. I think I'm going to really try over the next few weeks and see if I can get him trained. I think he's ready.
May 24, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Well, 2 more days of these blasted steroids. I am really hoping it is the Dex that is making me feel like this. If not, I'm going to be really depressed! Seriously, though, I am definitely noticing side effects-- my face is getting puffy!! Not too bad yet, but I definitely notice. And I've broken out into a rash on my face and chest and shoulders. And I'm hungry all the time. I thought I was doing ok on them, I hadn't gained any weight after more than a week, but I bet I've gained weight this past week. Ugh. I haven't exercised in a looooong time. I went to the gym a couple of times last week but only jogged on the treadmill for like a mile and did some weights. I felt pretty bad afterwards, too, so I'm not sure if it is a good thing to try to workout or not. Generally I think it is a good thing, but I'm not sure if exercising is just going to stress my body out even more and make it take even longer to get over this flareup. I guess I'm sort of resigned to the fact that this will have to run it's entire course. It started out with my right leg and side, moved to the left, and now it's affecting my neck and arms. In MS there is this really strange symptom called "L'hermitte's Sign" where you get electrical pulsation feelings that shoot down your whole body when you bend you chin to your neck. It's caused by damage to the cervical spinal cord. This was one of the first truly classic MS symptoms I got, but disappeared after my first flareup. It didn't really come back that strong with this second one, either, until a couple of weeks ago, but it has come back with a vengeance. I have to watch the way I move my neck because it can make me drop things and stuff, that's how strong it comes on. But I figure after this my flareup will have hit every major part of my body and then it will be over, right? And I'll be flareup free for a VERY LONG TIME. I am so, so, so, so, so tired of not feeling like myself. I want my energy back. I want my mental clarity (such as it was) back. I want my body back!!!!
Ok, whine over.
Tomorrow is the boys' last day of school. So sad! This afternoon we walked down to the Embassy Lakes shopping center which is basically across the street from us and picked out a present for their teacher. It is a copper butterfly type thing that she can hang up and hopefully remember Joseph and Brigham by. We went to Tuesday Morning which is a cool little store that sells home-decor stuff at a big discount. It was cute to see the things Brigham and Joseph wanted to pick out for Miss Trudy. Glass sculptures, rhine-stone flipflops, a bug-catcher kit.
I hope the boys won't be totally bored out of their minds this summer. I am really going to have to discipline myself and get a schedule going for activities to do every day. Or I will go out of my mind. Actually, I dont' think the boys will be bored, I think they just might end up making humongous messes and driving me crazy. They're pretty good about not getting bored! Today I was not feeling good and ended up laying on the couch for a couple of hours and the boys kept themselves quite busy making jelly fish out of ziplock baggies of water and taping yarn tentacles on them. And yes, at least one of them did end up exploding on the floor. Joseph also told me that they were having fun with salt, and "wasted all the salt in the container." At least it was only the little salt-shaker and not the entire box of salt I have in the cupboard. And at least it was only salt and not sugar! But still, those are the little things that will drive me crazy this summer if I don't keep the boys more productively busy.
We finally bought plane tickets for our trip this summer and I'm already excited for that. The boys have requested that Grandpa Frandsen get out his telescope when we are there so they can look at the moon. I have a feeling that I'll be getting asked quite frequently when it will be time to go on our trip.
Well, off to bed for me. It's almost midnight and I didn't want to stay up that late. Oh well.
Hello Everyone,
Well, 2 more days of these blasted steroids. I am really hoping it is the Dex that is making me feel like this. If not, I'm going to be really depressed! Seriously, though, I am definitely noticing side effects-- my face is getting puffy!! Not too bad yet, but I definitely notice. And I've broken out into a rash on my face and chest and shoulders. And I'm hungry all the time. I thought I was doing ok on them, I hadn't gained any weight after more than a week, but I bet I've gained weight this past week. Ugh. I haven't exercised in a looooong time. I went to the gym a couple of times last week but only jogged on the treadmill for like a mile and did some weights. I felt pretty bad afterwards, too, so I'm not sure if it is a good thing to try to workout or not. Generally I think it is a good thing, but I'm not sure if exercising is just going to stress my body out even more and make it take even longer to get over this flareup. I guess I'm sort of resigned to the fact that this will have to run it's entire course. It started out with my right leg and side, moved to the left, and now it's affecting my neck and arms. In MS there is this really strange symptom called "L'hermitte's Sign" where you get electrical pulsation feelings that shoot down your whole body when you bend you chin to your neck. It's caused by damage to the cervical spinal cord. This was one of the first truly classic MS symptoms I got, but disappeared after my first flareup. It didn't really come back that strong with this second one, either, until a couple of weeks ago, but it has come back with a vengeance. I have to watch the way I move my neck because it can make me drop things and stuff, that's how strong it comes on. But I figure after this my flareup will have hit every major part of my body and then it will be over, right? And I'll be flareup free for a VERY LONG TIME. I am so, so, so, so, so tired of not feeling like myself. I want my energy back. I want my mental clarity (such as it was) back. I want my body back!!!!
Ok, whine over.
Tomorrow is the boys' last day of school. So sad! This afternoon we walked down to the Embassy Lakes shopping center which is basically across the street from us and picked out a present for their teacher. It is a copper butterfly type thing that she can hang up and hopefully remember Joseph and Brigham by. We went to Tuesday Morning which is a cool little store that sells home-decor stuff at a big discount. It was cute to see the things Brigham and Joseph wanted to pick out for Miss Trudy. Glass sculptures, rhine-stone flipflops, a bug-catcher kit.
I hope the boys won't be totally bored out of their minds this summer. I am really going to have to discipline myself and get a schedule going for activities to do every day. Or I will go out of my mind. Actually, I dont' think the boys will be bored, I think they just might end up making humongous messes and driving me crazy. They're pretty good about not getting bored! Today I was not feeling good and ended up laying on the couch for a couple of hours and the boys kept themselves quite busy making jelly fish out of ziplock baggies of water and taping yarn tentacles on them. And yes, at least one of them did end up exploding on the floor. Joseph also told me that they were having fun with salt, and "wasted all the salt in the container." At least it was only the little salt-shaker and not the entire box of salt I have in the cupboard. And at least it was only salt and not sugar! But still, those are the little things that will drive me crazy this summer if I don't keep the boys more productively busy.
We finally bought plane tickets for our trip this summer and I'm already excited for that. The boys have requested that Grandpa Frandsen get out his telescope when we are there so they can look at the moon. I have a feeling that I'll be getting asked quite frequently when it will be time to go on our trip.
Well, off to bed for me. It's almost midnight and I didn't want to stay up that late. Oh well.
May 22, 2006
Hey All,
Joseph was still sick today, poor guy. I think he is finally feeling better tonight, though, after really eating nothing for 2 days. I've been trying to get pedialyte down him. He slept pretty much all day. Hopefully he'll be back to himself tomorrow.
Brigham and Mosey were just fine, though, up to their usual tricks. Ben worked from home today which was a very nice treat (for all of us I think). I sure hope he can convince his boss to let him do this regularly.
I had a lot of energy today and got some things done I've been putting off for months (hanging pictures and 3 shelves), and even made lasagna for dinner. I'm tired now, though!
Since Joseph was sick, he was my helpless model for a while in my garage studio. I'm trying to figure out light placement, etc. So here are a few pictures of my poor sick baby, can you see how miserable he was feeling?
I'm off to bed now, so I hope everyone had a great Monday.
Hey All,
Joseph was still sick today, poor guy. I think he is finally feeling better tonight, though, after really eating nothing for 2 days. I've been trying to get pedialyte down him. He slept pretty much all day. Hopefully he'll be back to himself tomorrow.
Brigham and Mosey were just fine, though, up to their usual tricks. Ben worked from home today which was a very nice treat (for all of us I think). I sure hope he can convince his boss to let him do this regularly.
I had a lot of energy today and got some things done I've been putting off for months (hanging pictures and 3 shelves), and even made lasagna for dinner. I'm tired now, though!
Since Joseph was sick, he was my helpless model for a while in my garage studio. I'm trying to figure out light placement, etc. So here are a few pictures of my poor sick baby, can you see how miserable he was feeling?
I'm off to bed now, so I hope everyone had a great Monday.
May 21, 2006
Hello Everyone,
I'm writing from the sick house again, unfortunately... Poor Joseph has been throwing up literally all day. He hasn't been able to keep anything down yet, not even water. I'm so thankful this is today, though, and not yesterday. He would have been so incredibly disappointed to miss his preschool graduation.
Their graduation was SO cute, by the way. I know there are lots of feelings about celebrating "graduations" like for pre-school, but honestly it was really cute. And I don't have a problem with teaching little children to be proud of academic acheivements, even on the level of preschool.
The graduation was held at a Baptist church across the street from their school. All the little kids marched in carrying American flags and singing "Proud to be an American." The graduation included the kids from the Cooper City Lil' Rascals as well as the Weston school, so there were probably 70-80 kids total (2 classes from each school). Each school then had a little performance with a couple of songs and dances. Brigham and Joseph were in a production of "Mamba #5" with different, cute words. Then it was the other school's turn, then an intermission, and finally marching across for "diplomas." Brigham was so funny, he was one of the first across, and he just skipped across over to his teacher, cute as anything. Joseph was towards the end and he was very solemn and serious. Then after the other school presented diplomas, it was time for the "finale," and the kids sang a very nice version of Josh Grobin's "You Raise Me Up." And that was it! Afterwards we met the kids in their caps and gowns in the back for pictures and to pick up their graduation certificates. Brigham and Joseph both wanted to know if I could hear them sing. Well, not exactly over 80 other kids, but they were definitely singing! I could see their mouths moving for every word.
After we managed to get out of the parking lot we went out to eat for a late lunch (it was like 2:30 by this time) at La Azteca (or is it El Azteca?), a Mexican restaurant in Davie. The boys were perfectly behaved and it was a delicious lunch. Joseph and Mosey and Ben fell asleep on the way home and napped all the way until about 8:00 PM, right about when I got Brigham in bed. As a result, you can imagine how late Joseph and Mosey were up! Joseph was up until past 2:30 AM, actually, which I believe accounts quite a bit for his sickness today. Mosey was quite snickerdoodly last night, too, giving Ben quite the run for his money in going to sleep. Ben had to barricade the bedroom door with a dresser to keep him from running out over and over again.
Mosey sort of continued his rampage this morning, as well. Ben let me sleep all morning, and Joseph was throwing up, so Mosey had the run of the house. And it shows. Ah well, tomorrow it will get cleaned up again.
So, what am I going to do with this newly 2-1/2 year old of mine?? One thing is for sure, he MUST start going to bed by himself (i.e. not falling asleep with mom and dad). Yes, I know, this has been an ongoing theme for more than a year now. The great get-Mosey-to-sleep project that never seems to get done. But I'm totally creating a monster here, and I need to nip it in the bud. I think my goal will be to get him in a good bedtime routine by the time we go on our California/Utah trip at the end of June. He is definitely at the point where he is needing boundaries and rules, so now is a good time to get this started.
On Friday, Mosey was actually a very good boy most of the day. He did errands with me in the morning (Weight Watchers meeting, lab for my blood tests, post office, Home Depot), and was very well behaved. At the lab, actually, he charmed everyone there with his peals of laughter when I pulled out this cheap little Chuck E. Cheese flip toy thing from my purse to entertain him. He just laughed and laughed every time I flipped the thing in the air, it was really pretty funny. The boys had school late that day, until 1:00, for their final graduation practice. After we picked them up, it occurred to me I had to get them black shoes and another pair of black dress pants for their graduation. The boys have no proper church shoes anyway, so it was a good excuse to get them some. We went to Target and got some great shoes on sale, but NO black pants for boys there! So we went across the parking lot to the mall and into JC Penney's to search from some black dress pants. I have one pair for the boys, but needed another. Managed to find a very nice shirt/tie/vest/pants set for $15. When we got back to the car I told the boys they could each have a pouch drink (purchased at Target) once they were buckled in their seats. Well, no sooner had I given Mosey his, that he started squeezing the dickens out of it, of course spraying juice EVERYWHERE! The boys started squealing (it was getting everywhere, really), and I turned around and shouted at Mosey to stop. Well, he just got this really devilish little look on his face and started squeezing it even harder. I grabbed his hand, but couldnt' make him let go. Finally, at my wit's end, I smacked his arm really hard, and wrenched the drink away from him. Thank goodness I had plenty of wipes in the car, and that it was the reduced sugar pouch drinks. But oh my goodness! Where did he think of that?? What made him do that?? Anyway, he was very upset that I took his drink away, and howled for quite a while until he fell asleep in his carseat. I felt bad for smacking him, that is the first time I've done that with him... No more pouch drinks in the car, I guess.
Friday night was a ward activity which turned out really nice. It was an international night, with tables set up by families in our ward from different countries. There were tables set up from Holland, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, and a couple others I think. There was food from all these countries and several families performed songs/dances from their countries. It was very cool. Ben and I played a few songs on the piano/violin from our English/pioneer heritage including Come Come Ye Saints (English folk tune) and a couple others. There was a pinata for the kids and all in all a lot of sugar was consumed such that none of our boys fell asleep on the way home! Oh well. It was pretty quick work getting them to bed once we were home.
So, that is my VERY long account of our weekend. Sorry, not sure how that got so long.
I hope you all have a good Monday.
Benjamin, I hope everything went really well today, I'm sure it did. I hope you will forward me a copy of your talk.
Rachel, it was so great talking to you last night! I miss you so much.
Rosalynde, I hope you are not getting sicker... Or if you are, please let it spare the rest of your family!
Nikki, any news on the baby front yet? I'm waiting for that phone call!
Hello Everyone,
I'm writing from the sick house again, unfortunately... Poor Joseph has been throwing up literally all day. He hasn't been able to keep anything down yet, not even water. I'm so thankful this is today, though, and not yesterday. He would have been so incredibly disappointed to miss his preschool graduation.
Their graduation was SO cute, by the way. I know there are lots of feelings about celebrating "graduations" like for pre-school, but honestly it was really cute. And I don't have a problem with teaching little children to be proud of academic acheivements, even on the level of preschool.
The graduation was held at a Baptist church across the street from their school. All the little kids marched in carrying American flags and singing "Proud to be an American." The graduation included the kids from the Cooper City Lil' Rascals as well as the Weston school, so there were probably 70-80 kids total (2 classes from each school). Each school then had a little performance with a couple of songs and dances. Brigham and Joseph were in a production of "Mamba #5" with different, cute words. Then it was the other school's turn, then an intermission, and finally marching across for "diplomas." Brigham was so funny, he was one of the first across, and he just skipped across over to his teacher, cute as anything. Joseph was towards the end and he was very solemn and serious. Then after the other school presented diplomas, it was time for the "finale," and the kids sang a very nice version of Josh Grobin's "You Raise Me Up." And that was it! Afterwards we met the kids in their caps and gowns in the back for pictures and to pick up their graduation certificates. Brigham and Joseph both wanted to know if I could hear them sing. Well, not exactly over 80 other kids, but they were definitely singing! I could see their mouths moving for every word.
After we managed to get out of the parking lot we went out to eat for a late lunch (it was like 2:30 by this time) at La Azteca (or is it El Azteca?), a Mexican restaurant in Davie. The boys were perfectly behaved and it was a delicious lunch. Joseph and Mosey and Ben fell asleep on the way home and napped all the way until about 8:00 PM, right about when I got Brigham in bed. As a result, you can imagine how late Joseph and Mosey were up! Joseph was up until past 2:30 AM, actually, which I believe accounts quite a bit for his sickness today. Mosey was quite snickerdoodly last night, too, giving Ben quite the run for his money in going to sleep. Ben had to barricade the bedroom door with a dresser to keep him from running out over and over again.
Mosey sort of continued his rampage this morning, as well. Ben let me sleep all morning, and Joseph was throwing up, so Mosey had the run of the house. And it shows. Ah well, tomorrow it will get cleaned up again.
So, what am I going to do with this newly 2-1/2 year old of mine?? One thing is for sure, he MUST start going to bed by himself (i.e. not falling asleep with mom and dad). Yes, I know, this has been an ongoing theme for more than a year now. The great get-Mosey-to-sleep project that never seems to get done. But I'm totally creating a monster here, and I need to nip it in the bud. I think my goal will be to get him in a good bedtime routine by the time we go on our California/Utah trip at the end of June. He is definitely at the point where he is needing boundaries and rules, so now is a good time to get this started.
On Friday, Mosey was actually a very good boy most of the day. He did errands with me in the morning (Weight Watchers meeting, lab for my blood tests, post office, Home Depot), and was very well behaved. At the lab, actually, he charmed everyone there with his peals of laughter when I pulled out this cheap little Chuck E. Cheese flip toy thing from my purse to entertain him. He just laughed and laughed every time I flipped the thing in the air, it was really pretty funny. The boys had school late that day, until 1:00, for their final graduation practice. After we picked them up, it occurred to me I had to get them black shoes and another pair of black dress pants for their graduation. The boys have no proper church shoes anyway, so it was a good excuse to get them some. We went to Target and got some great shoes on sale, but NO black pants for boys there! So we went across the parking lot to the mall and into JC Penney's to search from some black dress pants. I have one pair for the boys, but needed another. Managed to find a very nice shirt/tie/vest/pants set for $15. When we got back to the car I told the boys they could each have a pouch drink (purchased at Target) once they were buckled in their seats. Well, no sooner had I given Mosey his, that he started squeezing the dickens out of it, of course spraying juice EVERYWHERE! The boys started squealing (it was getting everywhere, really), and I turned around and shouted at Mosey to stop. Well, he just got this really devilish little look on his face and started squeezing it even harder. I grabbed his hand, but couldnt' make him let go. Finally, at my wit's end, I smacked his arm really hard, and wrenched the drink away from him. Thank goodness I had plenty of wipes in the car, and that it was the reduced sugar pouch drinks. But oh my goodness! Where did he think of that?? What made him do that?? Anyway, he was very upset that I took his drink away, and howled for quite a while until he fell asleep in his carseat. I felt bad for smacking him, that is the first time I've done that with him... No more pouch drinks in the car, I guess.
Friday night was a ward activity which turned out really nice. It was an international night, with tables set up by families in our ward from different countries. There were tables set up from Holland, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, and a couple others I think. There was food from all these countries and several families performed songs/dances from their countries. It was very cool. Ben and I played a few songs on the piano/violin from our English/pioneer heritage including Come Come Ye Saints (English folk tune) and a couple others. There was a pinata for the kids and all in all a lot of sugar was consumed such that none of our boys fell asleep on the way home! Oh well. It was pretty quick work getting them to bed once we were home.
So, that is my VERY long account of our weekend. Sorry, not sure how that got so long.
I hope you all have a good Monday.
Benjamin, I hope everything went really well today, I'm sure it did. I hope you will forward me a copy of your talk.
Rachel, it was so great talking to you last night! I miss you so much.
Rosalynde, I hope you are not getting sicker... Or if you are, please let it spare the rest of your family!
Nikki, any news on the baby front yet? I'm waiting for that phone call!
May 18, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Well, the house is clean and it feels sooooo good. I got a ton done this morning, organizing and putting everything away. Still have a few things in the garage left over from cleaning out the car, but I should make short work of that tomorrow morning.
Got Mosey's blood draw done (on the list to be done for about 3 months now), and he was so brave. It was a full vein-draw, too, not just a finger prick. He flinched a bit when the needle went in, but didn't make a PEEP. He just watched and then smiled when he got his Bugs Bunny bandaid. He is a tough little guy! He was a very good boy, today, too. He followed me around as I cleaned and was extremely well behaved all day. So I guess there is still hope for him!
Actually all the boys were so good. After school we went to Walmart Supercenter, which has been the scene of some difficult shopping trips, but all the boys were very good, just looked at toys and didn't whine about getting any. Didn't whine about being too tired or it taking too long or anything like that. Afterwards we swung by the lab for Mosey's bloodwork. I have some I need to get done, too (also on the list for like 2 months) but when I got there I found out I had to be fasting for 10 hours before, so I just did Mosey's. I'll go back in the morning I guess.
I still have 17 messages on my voice mail that I need to listen to (I just haaaaaaate voice mail...), plane tickets to purchase, graduation pictures for the boys' class to order, an entire basket of mail to sort, and a bunch of other projects, but at least the house is clean now!
Ben worked from home today which was really nice. I think he got a lot done since the big boys were not home from 8:00 to 4:00 PM and Mosey didn't bother him too much this morning. He's hopefully going to work from home at least one day a week from now on. It would be great to move that to 2 days a week, but that may be pushing it. It really does save his sanity from the commute and his crazy boss and all the rest of it.
I felt good emotionally all day, maybe even a bit manic?? I'm not sure, but at least much different from being depressed, which was nice. It was sunny today which makes a huge difference to me. I think I may have overdid it a little today, though, because I've been pretty fuzzy and unsteady this evening. I'm going to bed in about 5 minutes so hopefully 9 hours of sleep will leave me good to go in the morning.
I love you all, thank you for the supportive emails and phone calls. Even if I never return phone calls... Sorry about that. I'm not trying to worry some of you worry-warts out there, but it helps me to just sort of get some of this stuff off my chest instead of having it all start to curdle up with unnecessary worry, you know? I'm managing fine, I promise
Hello Everyone,
Well, the house is clean and it feels sooooo good. I got a ton done this morning, organizing and putting everything away. Still have a few things in the garage left over from cleaning out the car, but I should make short work of that tomorrow morning.
Got Mosey's blood draw done (on the list to be done for about 3 months now), and he was so brave. It was a full vein-draw, too, not just a finger prick. He flinched a bit when the needle went in, but didn't make a PEEP. He just watched and then smiled when he got his Bugs Bunny bandaid. He is a tough little guy! He was a very good boy, today, too. He followed me around as I cleaned and was extremely well behaved all day. So I guess there is still hope for him!
Actually all the boys were so good. After school we went to Walmart Supercenter, which has been the scene of some difficult shopping trips, but all the boys were very good, just looked at toys and didn't whine about getting any. Didn't whine about being too tired or it taking too long or anything like that. Afterwards we swung by the lab for Mosey's bloodwork. I have some I need to get done, too (also on the list for like 2 months) but when I got there I found out I had to be fasting for 10 hours before, so I just did Mosey's. I'll go back in the morning I guess.
I still have 17 messages on my voice mail that I need to listen to (I just haaaaaaate voice mail...), plane tickets to purchase, graduation pictures for the boys' class to order, an entire basket of mail to sort, and a bunch of other projects, but at least the house is clean now!
Ben worked from home today which was really nice. I think he got a lot done since the big boys were not home from 8:00 to 4:00 PM and Mosey didn't bother him too much this morning. He's hopefully going to work from home at least one day a week from now on. It would be great to move that to 2 days a week, but that may be pushing it. It really does save his sanity from the commute and his crazy boss and all the rest of it.
I felt good emotionally all day, maybe even a bit manic?? I'm not sure, but at least much different from being depressed, which was nice. It was sunny today which makes a huge difference to me. I think I may have overdid it a little today, though, because I've been pretty fuzzy and unsteady this evening. I'm going to bed in about 5 minutes so hopefully 9 hours of sleep will leave me good to go in the morning.
I love you all, thank you for the supportive emails and phone calls. Even if I never return phone calls... Sorry about that. I'm not trying to worry some of you worry-warts out there, but it helps me to just sort of get some of this stuff off my chest instead of having it all start to curdle up with unnecessary worry, you know? I'm managing fine, I promise
May 17, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Well, just a few tales from the Turner household tonight.
First the regular health report... Not that great, unfortunately. I've been taking the dexamethasone for 7 days now. It has improved my left leg, it is much less painful. But I certainly haven't regained all sensation and now my right arm has been tingly. This happened with the prednisone, too. The symptoms I took the pred for did seem to diminish, but right at the same time some new symptoms popped up. I guess I'm just not sure what to expect. Should these steroids totally wipe out all my symptoms? Since it's not, does that mean it's not working? I guess I'll call my doctor again tomorrow, but I really, REALLY don't want to have to go in for IV steroids. The Dexamethasone is causing enough havoc as it is. It's been giving me major hot flashes and for a couple of days (when I was still on the highest dose) I got really depressed. I am down to 2 a day now and that seems to have improved, but I was pretty miserable for a couple of days. Of course one of the side effects of dexamethasone is a spike in depressive symptoms. I actually noticed it *before* I looked up the Dex side effects, so I'm pretty sure it's not just psychosomatic. Monday was the worst day for that. It was rainy and dreary all day and I was tired and just BLAH. I had no energy and couldn't focus on the kids. Mosey watched cartoons the entire time the boys were at preschool. I felt terrible, like I had absolutely no right being a mother and the whole world would be far better off if I just ceased to exist. Lovely thoughts, huh? Happily, I am feeling better today, but still really having trouble with mental clarity, motivation, and fatigue. Mentally, I just can't seem to focus very well. When the big boys come home from school, I almost go into overload because they are just chattering nonstop and I can't keep up and their volume is about 2 times higher than it needs to be and after about 5 minutes I just want to shut myself up in a closet for some QUIET!!! Aggghhh. But I'm hanging in there and doing my very best to be patient and I know this will pass soon.
So, that's the whiny part of my email over and DONE with.
Let's backtrack a couple of days. Mother's day was very very nice. Ben continued pampering me and got up with the boys on Sunday morning and let me sleep until it was time to get ready for church. All I did was get up and get myself ready and he was in charge of the boys. Church was nice, of course, the primary kids got up and sang mother's Day songs and it was really cute and all that. I have so many memories of Mother's Days being days of sadness and uncertainty, it is still, even after almost 5 years, a total wonder to me that I have these 3 little boys. I know a couple of women in our ward struggling to have babies and felt sad for them. After Sacrament meeting the bishop asked all women over 21 to stand up for a bag of chocolate kisses and a bookmark, and one of these girls didn't want to stand up. I walked over to her and held her by the shoulders and told her she better stand up, she deserves to, but maybe I should have left her alone. Hard to tell. Sometimes you just want to ignore it all, other times it helps to have someone else recognize your pain. I was happy to see my other friend, Vanessa, who had just had a miscarriage last Mother's Day, standing smiling and glowing, 25 weeks pregnant with her little girl.
After church I tried to give back to Ben a little by letting him take a nap with Mosey. He actually didn't get back up until I got the big boys in bed for the night. So I'm kind of a good wife, too, I guess! Ben's been under major pressure at work, though, and hasn't gotten enough sleep that's for sure.
So Monday and Tuesday were sort of yucky days, full of rain and getting nothing done. The good side of all the rain is that it appears Ben and I (mostly Ben) fixed the leak in our roof. We got an estimate almost a year ago and the damage was going to be like $1600. Then after the hurricanes it became downright impossible to even book any roofers, so we decided what the heck we'll try and fix it ourselves. Well Sunday night was the LOUDEST rainstorm I can remember, and no leak!! We still have to get a whole bunch of replacement roof tiles (out of stock everywhere-- go figure), but after those are installed we'll be ready for another hurricane season. We better get cracking on that. Actually the storms down here on Monday were so bad that there is a whole new rash of building condemnations from additional roof damage that didn't get fixed yet from the hurricanes last year. Sad. Lots and lots of blue roofs still up around here and hurricane season only 2 weeks away.
Joseph has, over the last 3 days or so, turned into my little valley-boy. I'm not sure where he has picked this up, but it seems almost every other word is "like." It really cracks me up, but I'm trying not to call attention to it because I think it will probably pass on its own. Brigham hasn't started doing that, but we'll see if his speech patterns are strongly influenced by Joseph. Joseph also told me that he wants to be an animal scientist when he grows up and that Mosey can work in the same office as him. And that Mosey can live with him too, until he is big enough to have his own house. Cute, huh?
Brigham, my dear sweet little guy, is the chief culprit responsible for my auditory fatigue these days. He simply must vocalize each and every little thought that comes into his head. I have no idea how many tens of thousands of words he utters each day, but it is pretty astounding. This has gotten me into a bit of trouble, though, because I simply can NOT pay attention to each and every thing he says (particularly when 2 other boys are talking at the same time). And I do admit to zoning out now and then and just agreeing with him, or giving non-committal answers. So anyway, apparently a couple of days ago I agreed to take him to the dollar store if he was quiet in the car (which I am quite SURE he was not-- it would have been a momentous occasion for him to be quiet in the car). Well, he hasn't forgotten about this committment and was reminding me constantly about it. Finally this morning, when he was in my room at 6:15 AM asking to go to the dollar store before school, Ben told him he had to do some chores and then he would get a dollar for the dollar store. So he happily picked up some toys and after school we headed to the dollar store. What do my boys pick out? Well, guns, of course. These are the first real toy guns they have had, aside from squirt guns. They came with a little police kit including suction cup darts, police shades, handcuffs, radio, and shield. The boys had a FABULOUS time playing with these toys this afternoon, until Mosey got tired of being the badguy and constantly getting handcuffed. So, do I just go with it? I think I'm ok with them playing with toy guns when the game is police and bad guys, and not just the boys being bad guys. I don't know, chances are those cheap dollar store toys will break in about a day and a half and it won't be an issue anymore. I am not very worried about my boys' sense of morality, though. We talk about right and wrong constantly and choosing the right and being honest and good and all of that. And they are good little boys.
Mosey, however, is turning into a 2 and a half year old. It's amazing how quickly this is happening. I'm telling you, it has been in the past WEEK that the transformation has taken place. My formerly easy-going, go-with-the-flow, happy-go-lucky little guy is getting WHINY and STUBBORN and DEFIANT. Oh, so sad!! Please let this only be temporary insanity on his part! He is doing naughty things just to see if he can get away with it, and when he can't, he throws a fit (major fit a couple of days ago when I wouldn't let him keep spilling his juice on the floor). He gets up on the table repeatedly and refuses to get down. He climbs up on the counters (trick he learned from Joseph), and of course can't get down, and so screams until I get him down and then does it immediately again. Throws food he decides he doesn't want. Tears Brigham's drawings. Knocks down a very complicated airport the big boys built in their bedroom. Hits with a stick and won't stop even after time outs. When he sits on my lap on the computer (which is whenever I'm at the computer and he's awake), he kicks out and slams the keyboard under the desk so I can't type, or else he pounds on the keyboard so I can't type. And then gets extremely angry when I put him off of my lap. If I'm laying down he'll come and JUMP on me just for the reaction. What am I going to do? I think part of the problem is that he is bored when the boys are off at school. He used to be satisfied just sort of following me around, or playing by himself, but not so much anymore. I know he is going to be very happy when school is out (only 7 more days, sob, sob!!). I'm not sure WHAT he is going to do next year when the boys are in Kindergarten. I think I'm really going to have to find a preschool for him to go to a few mornings a week. I really have NO idea what to do with an only-child at home! Really, it is weird. With the boys at preschool only 3 hours, our time is pretty much spent getting him fed and dressed, a few chores done, maybe some errands, he'll watch Little Einsteins, and then we get the boys. But until 2:00 every afternoon? He'll be totally lost, and I have no idea how to entertain just ONE child! We will certainly drive each other crazy.
Ok, this is way too long for one night. Sorry about that. Hope you all have lovely Thursdays and all that.
Hello Everyone,
Well, just a few tales from the Turner household tonight.
First the regular health report... Not that great, unfortunately. I've been taking the dexamethasone for 7 days now. It has improved my left leg, it is much less painful. But I certainly haven't regained all sensation and now my right arm has been tingly. This happened with the prednisone, too. The symptoms I took the pred for did seem to diminish, but right at the same time some new symptoms popped up. I guess I'm just not sure what to expect. Should these steroids totally wipe out all my symptoms? Since it's not, does that mean it's not working? I guess I'll call my doctor again tomorrow, but I really, REALLY don't want to have to go in for IV steroids. The Dexamethasone is causing enough havoc as it is. It's been giving me major hot flashes and for a couple of days (when I was still on the highest dose) I got really depressed. I am down to 2 a day now and that seems to have improved, but I was pretty miserable for a couple of days. Of course one of the side effects of dexamethasone is a spike in depressive symptoms. I actually noticed it *before* I looked up the Dex side effects, so I'm pretty sure it's not just psychosomatic. Monday was the worst day for that. It was rainy and dreary all day and I was tired and just BLAH. I had no energy and couldn't focus on the kids. Mosey watched cartoons the entire time the boys were at preschool. I felt terrible, like I had absolutely no right being a mother and the whole world would be far better off if I just ceased to exist. Lovely thoughts, huh? Happily, I am feeling better today, but still really having trouble with mental clarity, motivation, and fatigue. Mentally, I just can't seem to focus very well. When the big boys come home from school, I almost go into overload because they are just chattering nonstop and I can't keep up and their volume is about 2 times higher than it needs to be and after about 5 minutes I just want to shut myself up in a closet for some QUIET!!! Aggghhh. But I'm hanging in there and doing my very best to be patient and I know this will pass soon.
So, that's the whiny part of my email over and DONE with.
Let's backtrack a couple of days. Mother's day was very very nice. Ben continued pampering me and got up with the boys on Sunday morning and let me sleep until it was time to get ready for church. All I did was get up and get myself ready and he was in charge of the boys. Church was nice, of course, the primary kids got up and sang mother's Day songs and it was really cute and all that. I have so many memories of Mother's Days being days of sadness and uncertainty, it is still, even after almost 5 years, a total wonder to me that I have these 3 little boys. I know a couple of women in our ward struggling to have babies and felt sad for them. After Sacrament meeting the bishop asked all women over 21 to stand up for a bag of chocolate kisses and a bookmark, and one of these girls didn't want to stand up. I walked over to her and held her by the shoulders and told her she better stand up, she deserves to, but maybe I should have left her alone. Hard to tell. Sometimes you just want to ignore it all, other times it helps to have someone else recognize your pain. I was happy to see my other friend, Vanessa, who had just had a miscarriage last Mother's Day, standing smiling and glowing, 25 weeks pregnant with her little girl.
After church I tried to give back to Ben a little by letting him take a nap with Mosey. He actually didn't get back up until I got the big boys in bed for the night. So I'm kind of a good wife, too, I guess! Ben's been under major pressure at work, though, and hasn't gotten enough sleep that's for sure.
So Monday and Tuesday were sort of yucky days, full of rain and getting nothing done. The good side of all the rain is that it appears Ben and I (mostly Ben) fixed the leak in our roof. We got an estimate almost a year ago and the damage was going to be like $1600. Then after the hurricanes it became downright impossible to even book any roofers, so we decided what the heck we'll try and fix it ourselves. Well Sunday night was the LOUDEST rainstorm I can remember, and no leak!! We still have to get a whole bunch of replacement roof tiles (out of stock everywhere-- go figure), but after those are installed we'll be ready for another hurricane season. We better get cracking on that. Actually the storms down here on Monday were so bad that there is a whole new rash of building condemnations from additional roof damage that didn't get fixed yet from the hurricanes last year. Sad. Lots and lots of blue roofs still up around here and hurricane season only 2 weeks away.
Joseph has, over the last 3 days or so, turned into my little valley-boy. I'm not sure where he has picked this up, but it seems almost every other word is "like." It really cracks me up, but I'm trying not to call attention to it because I think it will probably pass on its own. Brigham hasn't started doing that, but we'll see if his speech patterns are strongly influenced by Joseph. Joseph also told me that he wants to be an animal scientist when he grows up and that Mosey can work in the same office as him. And that Mosey can live with him too, until he is big enough to have his own house. Cute, huh?
Brigham, my dear sweet little guy, is the chief culprit responsible for my auditory fatigue these days. He simply must vocalize each and every little thought that comes into his head. I have no idea how many tens of thousands of words he utters each day, but it is pretty astounding. This has gotten me into a bit of trouble, though, because I simply can NOT pay attention to each and every thing he says (particularly when 2 other boys are talking at the same time). And I do admit to zoning out now and then and just agreeing with him, or giving non-committal answers. So anyway, apparently a couple of days ago I agreed to take him to the dollar store if he was quiet in the car (which I am quite SURE he was not-- it would have been a momentous occasion for him to be quiet in the car). Well, he hasn't forgotten about this committment and was reminding me constantly about it. Finally this morning, when he was in my room at 6:15 AM asking to go to the dollar store before school, Ben told him he had to do some chores and then he would get a dollar for the dollar store. So he happily picked up some toys and after school we headed to the dollar store. What do my boys pick out? Well, guns, of course. These are the first real toy guns they have had, aside from squirt guns. They came with a little police kit including suction cup darts, police shades, handcuffs, radio, and shield. The boys had a FABULOUS time playing with these toys this afternoon, until Mosey got tired of being the badguy and constantly getting handcuffed. So, do I just go with it? I think I'm ok with them playing with toy guns when the game is police and bad guys, and not just the boys being bad guys. I don't know, chances are those cheap dollar store toys will break in about a day and a half and it won't be an issue anymore. I am not very worried about my boys' sense of morality, though. We talk about right and wrong constantly and choosing the right and being honest and good and all of that. And they are good little boys.
Mosey, however, is turning into a 2 and a half year old. It's amazing how quickly this is happening. I'm telling you, it has been in the past WEEK that the transformation has taken place. My formerly easy-going, go-with-the-flow, happy-go-lucky little guy is getting WHINY and STUBBORN and DEFIANT. Oh, so sad!! Please let this only be temporary insanity on his part! He is doing naughty things just to see if he can get away with it, and when he can't, he throws a fit (major fit a couple of days ago when I wouldn't let him keep spilling his juice on the floor). He gets up on the table repeatedly and refuses to get down. He climbs up on the counters (trick he learned from Joseph), and of course can't get down, and so screams until I get him down and then does it immediately again. Throws food he decides he doesn't want. Tears Brigham's drawings. Knocks down a very complicated airport the big boys built in their bedroom. Hits with a stick and won't stop even after time outs. When he sits on my lap on the computer (which is whenever I'm at the computer and he's awake), he kicks out and slams the keyboard under the desk so I can't type, or else he pounds on the keyboard so I can't type. And then gets extremely angry when I put him off of my lap. If I'm laying down he'll come and JUMP on me just for the reaction. What am I going to do? I think part of the problem is that he is bored when the boys are off at school. He used to be satisfied just sort of following me around, or playing by himself, but not so much anymore. I know he is going to be very happy when school is out (only 7 more days, sob, sob!!). I'm not sure WHAT he is going to do next year when the boys are in Kindergarten. I think I'm really going to have to find a preschool for him to go to a few mornings a week. I really have NO idea what to do with an only-child at home! Really, it is weird. With the boys at preschool only 3 hours, our time is pretty much spent getting him fed and dressed, a few chores done, maybe some errands, he'll watch Little Einsteins, and then we get the boys. But until 2:00 every afternoon? He'll be totally lost, and I have no idea how to entertain just ONE child! We will certainly drive each other crazy.
Ok, this is way too long for one night. Sorry about that. Hope you all have lovely Thursdays and all that.
May 13, 2006
Hello Everyone,
I'm so happy tonight, I just have to share. Ben and the boys put together such a nice surprise for me. The whole day was really nice. I went to take a nap in the early afternoon and while I was sleeping Ben took care of the boys, got his lesson ready for tomorrow, got the boys bathed and dressed up, went to the store and bought flowers and a fruit basket for me, and then came back around 5:30 and rang the doorbell. I woke up and went downstairs to open the door and there were my 3 handsome boys, all dressed up in shirts and ties bearing flowers and fruit. Ben then came in and told me to get ready because we were going out to eat. He went upstairs to get dressed real quick and I put the flowers in vases (that the boys made for me at preschool for Mothers' Day) and took some pictures of the boys in their finery. Then I got dressed real quick and off we went to a wonderful dinner at Johnny Carrinos. We had bread and mozzarella sticks and caesar salad and garlic potato soup and cheese tortolloni and chicken something or other (pasta dish with medallions of chicken in a lemon butter garlic sauce), and I had a blackberry italian cream soda. It was really delicious and the boys were perfect angels. The restaurant was a little busy (imagine that) so we had to wait a bit for our food during which we played tic tac toe with Brigham and Joseph on their kids' menus, and Ben told stories. On the way home we drove through downtown Ft. Lauderdale and Brigham and Joseph fell asleep. Then I got to come home and work on photos for a couple of hours, and here I am! What a perfect night.
Ben also told me I have a couple of surprises heading my way tomorrow or the next day, so I can't wait.
Anyway, Ben, you did GREAT!!! And it isn't even Mother's Day yet!! I definitely feel happy to be a mother tonight.
Last night was a very good night as well. I did manage to get the house fairly well put back together yesterday, and then last night we took the boys to the Curtises and then the adults went to see United 93. It was a very good and powerful movie and I cried nearly the entire way through it. I highly recommend it to everyone over the age of 14. It was hard to watch, but very much worth it.
This morning the Scouts had a car wash at the church so I got up and de-junked the van (something that was done only 2 weeks ago but still took me a good 30 minutes to do again today), and the boys and I went up to the church. The Scouts did a very good job, for $10. The inside still needs a bit of work (not much though), but the outside looks great. Now watch, it will rain tomorrow.
Well, I'm pretty tired and don't want to ruin my Mother's Day by being too sleepy, so I think I will close. I will attach the pictures I took of my 3 little guys tonight, on my brand-new studio platform with the brand-new lights.
Hello Everyone,
I'm so happy tonight, I just have to share. Ben and the boys put together such a nice surprise for me. The whole day was really nice. I went to take a nap in the early afternoon and while I was sleeping Ben took care of the boys, got his lesson ready for tomorrow, got the boys bathed and dressed up, went to the store and bought flowers and a fruit basket for me, and then came back around 5:30 and rang the doorbell. I woke up and went downstairs to open the door and there were my 3 handsome boys, all dressed up in shirts and ties bearing flowers and fruit. Ben then came in and told me to get ready because we were going out to eat. He went upstairs to get dressed real quick and I put the flowers in vases (that the boys made for me at preschool for Mothers' Day) and took some pictures of the boys in their finery. Then I got dressed real quick and off we went to a wonderful dinner at Johnny Carrinos. We had bread and mozzarella sticks and caesar salad and garlic potato soup and cheese tortolloni and chicken something or other (pasta dish with medallions of chicken in a lemon butter garlic sauce), and I had a blackberry italian cream soda. It was really delicious and the boys were perfect angels. The restaurant was a little busy (imagine that) so we had to wait a bit for our food during which we played tic tac toe with Brigham and Joseph on their kids' menus, and Ben told stories. On the way home we drove through downtown Ft. Lauderdale and Brigham and Joseph fell asleep. Then I got to come home and work on photos for a couple of hours, and here I am! What a perfect night.
Ben also told me I have a couple of surprises heading my way tomorrow or the next day, so I can't wait.
Anyway, Ben, you did GREAT!!! And it isn't even Mother's Day yet!! I definitely feel happy to be a mother tonight.
Last night was a very good night as well. I did manage to get the house fairly well put back together yesterday, and then last night we took the boys to the Curtises and then the adults went to see United 93. It was a very good and powerful movie and I cried nearly the entire way through it. I highly recommend it to everyone over the age of 14. It was hard to watch, but very much worth it.
This morning the Scouts had a car wash at the church so I got up and de-junked the van (something that was done only 2 weeks ago but still took me a good 30 minutes to do again today), and the boys and I went up to the church. The Scouts did a very good job, for $10. The inside still needs a bit of work (not much though), but the outside looks great. Now watch, it will rain tomorrow.
Well, I'm pretty tired and don't want to ruin my Mother's Day by being too sleepy, so I think I will close. I will attach the pictures I took of my 3 little guys tonight, on my brand-new studio platform with the brand-new lights.
May 11, 2006
Hello Everyone,
It's getting pretty hot around here and today we spent the afternoon at the Curtis's pool. The boys love swimming, thank goodness, and I suspect we'll be doing a LOT of that this summer. Joseph and Brigham have these short wet-suits (short legs and sleeves) that have floaties built right into them. The way they are constructed allows the boys to swim totally normally in the water ( i.e. not falling over on their bellies or anything). They love them and swim all over the pool. I really would like to teach them to swim this summer and maybe I will, but for now I think these floaties are pretty great in teaching them not to be afraid of the water, and hopefully giving them some motivation to learn on their own.
I don't have a floaty suit like that for Mosey, though, so he wears a lifejacket. The problem with lifejackets is that lots of little kids tend to flip over onto their belly. Mosey did that today, falling off the steps and struggling for a few seconds to get his face out of the water. I was right there and was to him within a few seconds, but he was pretty upset. However, for Mosey I'm ok if he is a little afraid of the water, since I don't think he is ready to learn to swim yet. For being a very laid-back mom, I am pretty vigilant about the pool. I find myself doing "pool scans" all the time, checking for my 3 boys and then checking the pool itself for anything wrong. I guess I was witness to too many close-calls as a kid in our pools growing up.
Yesterday I started a 15 day course of Dexamethasone (steroid) for my leg and side. I *think* I'm feeling some improvement tonight. Hopefully not just placebo-effect. If I don't see significant improvement within the week I'll have to switch to IV steroids for 3-5 days which would be a major pain in the neck since it would involve out-patient hospital visits with the accompanying babysitting arrangements. Not to mention I hate getting IV's. I know Dexamethasone is a stronger steroid than Prednisone (what I was on before) and has stronger side effects, but so far I actually like it a little better than the Pred. I'm not feeling as nauseated on it, anyway.
Hey, I got the boys to eat peas today! Ben hates peas, so I don't buy them often (hardly ever). I fed the boys peas when they were babies, but they were definitely NOT a favorite. But I'm really trying to expand their vegetable intake past brocolli and corn, so I got them some peas today. I told them that their cousins Elena and Jack love frozen peas and sometimes eat them for dessert. That seemed to do the trick! They actually ate peas!! Yay, maybe my boys will become vegetable eaters after all!!
I'm up way too late again tonight. I actually didn't mean to. I went to Kylie's house to deliver her photo slideshow and order forms. I ended up staying there longer than I anticipated because her laptop screen was skewing all my photos. I am a huge perfectionist (blessing and a curse) and I just couldn't leave until I figured out a way for her to see the slideshow correctly. I did figure it out and she was happy to see that she doesn't REALLY look 20% wider than she is (her screen was skewing the pictures 20% horizontally). She seemed to really like the pictures, and honestly, that is the biggest payoff for me. At least at this stage of things. Maybe that part will lose its novelty after a while and the paycheck will be the biggest payoff. But for now that is definitely just a side benefit. Especially because my dollar-per-hour earnings at this stage of the game are significantly less than minimum wage... I do think she will order some prints, though, and she already has told me she wants newborn pictures done as soon as her baby is born.
Anyway, I got back from her house at like 10:00, and finally finished editing Rosalynde's pictures and just looked at the clock to see it is 1:30 AM. Oops. I totally lose track of time when I'm doing photo stuff, which I guess means I really like it (I do), but isn't good for my sleep deprivation. Especially since tomorrow morning I simply MUST clean up the house while the boys are in preschool. Tomorrow night Ben and I want to go out with the Melissa and Glenn Curtis to see United 93 and my bargain with myself is that I can go if the house is cleaned up. It's not that bad (it was totally clean Monday, remember?) but the front room is quite cluttered with a chair/cushion/blanket fort the boys made, and a game and some puzzle pieces scattered about. And dishes need to be done. And the van desperately needs to be cleaned out.
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'll leave you with some pictures I took at Rosalynde's house of some of the newly budded blossoms and flowers. I miss spring! Here you sort of get desensitized to flowers and leaves since they are here year-round, and tulips and daffodils certainly do not grow here, not to mention any blossoming fruit trees...
Rosalynde, I think you should have all the proofs now. I'll burn them onto a CD and mail them to you and if you want any of them, let me know, ok?
Hello Everyone,
It's getting pretty hot around here and today we spent the afternoon at the Curtis's pool. The boys love swimming, thank goodness, and I suspect we'll be doing a LOT of that this summer. Joseph and Brigham have these short wet-suits (short legs and sleeves) that have floaties built right into them. The way they are constructed allows the boys to swim totally normally in the water ( i.e. not falling over on their bellies or anything). They love them and swim all over the pool. I really would like to teach them to swim this summer and maybe I will, but for now I think these floaties are pretty great in teaching them not to be afraid of the water, and hopefully giving them some motivation to learn on their own.
I don't have a floaty suit like that for Mosey, though, so he wears a lifejacket. The problem with lifejackets is that lots of little kids tend to flip over onto their belly. Mosey did that today, falling off the steps and struggling for a few seconds to get his face out of the water. I was right there and was to him within a few seconds, but he was pretty upset. However, for Mosey I'm ok if he is a little afraid of the water, since I don't think he is ready to learn to swim yet. For being a very laid-back mom, I am pretty vigilant about the pool. I find myself doing "pool scans" all the time, checking for my 3 boys and then checking the pool itself for anything wrong. I guess I was witness to too many close-calls as a kid in our pools growing up.
Yesterday I started a 15 day course of Dexamethasone (steroid) for my leg and side. I *think* I'm feeling some improvement tonight. Hopefully not just placebo-effect. If I don't see significant improvement within the week I'll have to switch to IV steroids for 3-5 days which would be a major pain in the neck since it would involve out-patient hospital visits with the accompanying babysitting arrangements. Not to mention I hate getting IV's. I know Dexamethasone is a stronger steroid than Prednisone (what I was on before) and has stronger side effects, but so far I actually like it a little better than the Pred. I'm not feeling as nauseated on it, anyway.
Hey, I got the boys to eat peas today! Ben hates peas, so I don't buy them often (hardly ever). I fed the boys peas when they were babies, but they were definitely NOT a favorite. But I'm really trying to expand their vegetable intake past brocolli and corn, so I got them some peas today. I told them that their cousins Elena and Jack love frozen peas and sometimes eat them for dessert. That seemed to do the trick! They actually ate peas!! Yay, maybe my boys will become vegetable eaters after all!!
I'm up way too late again tonight. I actually didn't mean to. I went to Kylie's house to deliver her photo slideshow and order forms. I ended up staying there longer than I anticipated because her laptop screen was skewing all my photos. I am a huge perfectionist (blessing and a curse) and I just couldn't leave until I figured out a way for her to see the slideshow correctly. I did figure it out and she was happy to see that she doesn't REALLY look 20% wider than she is (her screen was skewing the pictures 20% horizontally). She seemed to really like the pictures, and honestly, that is the biggest payoff for me. At least at this stage of things. Maybe that part will lose its novelty after a while and the paycheck will be the biggest payoff. But for now that is definitely just a side benefit. Especially because my dollar-per-hour earnings at this stage of the game are significantly less than minimum wage... I do think she will order some prints, though, and she already has told me she wants newborn pictures done as soon as her baby is born.
Anyway, I got back from her house at like 10:00, and finally finished editing Rosalynde's pictures and just looked at the clock to see it is 1:30 AM. Oops. I totally lose track of time when I'm doing photo stuff, which I guess means I really like it (I do), but isn't good for my sleep deprivation. Especially since tomorrow morning I simply MUST clean up the house while the boys are in preschool. Tomorrow night Ben and I want to go out with the Melissa and Glenn Curtis to see United 93 and my bargain with myself is that I can go if the house is cleaned up. It's not that bad (it was totally clean Monday, remember?) but the front room is quite cluttered with a chair/cushion/blanket fort the boys made, and a game and some puzzle pieces scattered about. And dishes need to be done. And the van desperately needs to be cleaned out.
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'll leave you with some pictures I took at Rosalynde's house of some of the newly budded blossoms and flowers. I miss spring! Here you sort of get desensitized to flowers and leaves since they are here year-round, and tulips and daffodils certainly do not grow here, not to mention any blossoming fruit trees...
Rosalynde, I think you should have all the proofs now. I'll burn them onto a CD and mail them to you and if you want any of them, let me know, ok?
May 9, 2006
Hey everyone,
I wrote a longish email last night, but then didn't send it because it was just too whiny!! LOL
Things are just fine around here, and as of last Friday I am back down to 3 kids. I'm so glad I was able to help my friend, I think the weeks we had her kids here helped her quite a bit. She seems to have turned a corner with her sickness, and her kids never came down with chicken pox, so all is well. And I'm also glad to have only 3 kids again!
Last weekend we went up to Daytona Beach where Ben had a convention. We stayed in the Hilton hotel right on the beach, and we even had a room with a balcony overlooking the ocean! It was really fun. The boys and I hung out at the pool and the beach while Ben was at his meetings, and then on Sunday we drove across the state through Ocala National Forest (BEAUTIFUL), went to church in Ocala (Ben and I want to move there if we are ever looking for a place to move), went on a hike through the Withlacoochee (sp?) State Forest, ate dinner on the beach in Brooksville, and then drove down through Tampa and home. We got home at about 12:30 AM and I was tiiiired. Lots of driving. But I was greeted by the most wonderful thing! I asked the Pratt girls to come over and take our dog out a couple of times while we were gone, and they took it upon themselves to clean my house while they were at it! They folded my laundry and everything. I was so touched.
While we were driving down towards Brooksville, we drove through lots of forested areas and the boys searched for animals. Their imaginations went a bit wild and Joseph was sure he saw an Ostrich and a Python, while Brigham told us he saw bear poop which must mean there were bears in the area. We did actually see a mother racoon run across the road with her 3 baby racoons in tow, and we saw plenty of bugs and birds on our hike. And at the beach in Daytona we watched a couple of dolphins playing around in the water just a few dozen yards off the shore. So it was definitely a success as far as my animal-loving boys were concerned.
Yesterday was back to real life with school and errands and other fun stuff. We made cookies for the Pratts and dropped them off, and then to the dollar store where the boys picked out prizes (ostensibly for being good in the car over the weekend, which they were, but mostly just because there wasn't much chance of me getting out of the store without getting them something... good thing it was the dollar store). They are nice boys, though, and kept picking out things they wanted to buy for each other or for their friends at school or for Madison Curtis, the only baby they know real well right now.
Today was Kindergarten roundup at Embassy Creek Elementary, where the boys will go next year. We went and enjoyed a little show from the current Kindergarten class, and then got a tour of the school and heard presentations by the guidance counselor, PTA president, and Kindergarten chairperson. I'm overall quite pleased with how things appear to be done at that school, and I think the boys are excited too. They did see 2 other kids that they know who will be in their K class, and that made them feel much better. I've been debating whether to put them in the same class or different classes (school lets me choose), and I'm thinking different classes. I'm hoping if they are in different classes they will be happier to see each other after school and will play better and fight less. I hope also that they won't be so competitive with each other (this is a bit of a problem now) if they are not in the same class. Still, it is hard for me to think about separating them when they've been together their whole lives.
I have actually debated quite a bit about even sending them to K, as I still plan to homeschool for most of their pre-college education. Part of my decision to send them to K is simply based on my health. I'm really hoping things will stabilize for me over the next year so that I will be better able to focus on their school. Also I think that having them in a normal school will get them used to a schedule of doing academic work, will get them used to an authority figure other than their parents, and also I hope they can make friends in the area so that when I do pull them out, they will have a group of friends they can still socialize with outside of school.
Anyway, it is strange to me that I'm finally having to face this whole going to school thing. How on earth can my kids be old enough for Kindergarten??
I've also been pretty busy with photography stuff over the past several days. Benjamin helped me construct several other components of my garage studio, which is now mostly functional. I'm waiting for a photoflood lightbulb for my chinese lantern, as the 250 watt one I have is not bright enough and also has way too much of an orange cast. I took the boys' Preschool class pictures last week, and they turned out really cute. I'll attach of couple of them to this email. I also finished up with my maternity photo shoot proofing, and finished the slideshow tonight. I'll attach a link to that if you want to see it. I have at least 3 other photoshoots scheduled for the next couple of weeks, so that is all going well. Oh yeah, I also got my first order delivered, and received my first check! No, I didn't save it to frame it, I deposited it the next day... So I guess I'm officially in business. My website is still under construction, though. I need to work on that, hopefully tomorrow night I can get some more done.
Tomorrow morning I have a doctor's appointment with my MS doctor. He's squeezing me in before his regular appointments since he's going out of town, so I have to be down in Coral Gables by 7:30. I'm taking Mosey with me and dropping the boys off at Melissa's house at around 6:30 (which is coming up soon for me, since it's now almost 1 AM...). My leg is giving me a lot of trouble so I hope the doctor can give me something which will help. I am so ready for this attack to be over already!!
Ok, that's it for now. I promise to get better at keeping up with my updates so they are not so long and boring... LOL.
Good luck everyoen in everything you are doing!
Hey everyone,
I wrote a longish email last night, but then didn't send it because it was just too whiny!! LOL
Things are just fine around here, and as of last Friday I am back down to 3 kids. I'm so glad I was able to help my friend, I think the weeks we had her kids here helped her quite a bit. She seems to have turned a corner with her sickness, and her kids never came down with chicken pox, so all is well. And I'm also glad to have only 3 kids again!
Last weekend we went up to Daytona Beach where Ben had a convention. We stayed in the Hilton hotel right on the beach, and we even had a room with a balcony overlooking the ocean! It was really fun. The boys and I hung out at the pool and the beach while Ben was at his meetings, and then on Sunday we drove across the state through Ocala National Forest (BEAUTIFUL), went to church in Ocala (Ben and I want to move there if we are ever looking for a place to move), went on a hike through the Withlacoochee (sp?) State Forest, ate dinner on the beach in Brooksville, and then drove down through Tampa and home. We got home at about 12:30 AM and I was tiiiired. Lots of driving. But I was greeted by the most wonderful thing! I asked the Pratt girls to come over and take our dog out a couple of times while we were gone, and they took it upon themselves to clean my house while they were at it! They folded my laundry and everything. I was so touched.
While we were driving down towards Brooksville, we drove through lots of forested areas and the boys searched for animals. Their imaginations went a bit wild and Joseph was sure he saw an Ostrich and a Python, while Brigham told us he saw bear poop which must mean there were bears in the area. We did actually see a mother racoon run across the road with her 3 baby racoons in tow, and we saw plenty of bugs and birds on our hike. And at the beach in Daytona we watched a couple of dolphins playing around in the water just a few dozen yards off the shore. So it was definitely a success as far as my animal-loving boys were concerned.
Yesterday was back to real life with school and errands and other fun stuff. We made cookies for the Pratts and dropped them off, and then to the dollar store where the boys picked out prizes (ostensibly for being good in the car over the weekend, which they were, but mostly just because there wasn't much chance of me getting out of the store without getting them something... good thing it was the dollar store). They are nice boys, though, and kept picking out things they wanted to buy for each other or for their friends at school or for Madison Curtis, the only baby they know real well right now.
Today was Kindergarten roundup at Embassy Creek Elementary, where the boys will go next year. We went and enjoyed a little show from the current Kindergarten class, and then got a tour of the school and heard presentations by the guidance counselor, PTA president, and Kindergarten chairperson. I'm overall quite pleased with how things appear to be done at that school, and I think the boys are excited too. They did see 2 other kids that they know who will be in their K class, and that made them feel much better. I've been debating whether to put them in the same class or different classes (school lets me choose), and I'm thinking different classes. I'm hoping if they are in different classes they will be happier to see each other after school and will play better and fight less. I hope also that they won't be so competitive with each other (this is a bit of a problem now) if they are not in the same class. Still, it is hard for me to think about separating them when they've been together their whole lives.
I have actually debated quite a bit about even sending them to K, as I still plan to homeschool for most of their pre-college education. Part of my decision to send them to K is simply based on my health. I'm really hoping things will stabilize for me over the next year so that I will be better able to focus on their school. Also I think that having them in a normal school will get them used to a schedule of doing academic work, will get them used to an authority figure other than their parents, and also I hope they can make friends in the area so that when I do pull them out, they will have a group of friends they can still socialize with outside of school.
Anyway, it is strange to me that I'm finally having to face this whole going to school thing. How on earth can my kids be old enough for Kindergarten??
I've also been pretty busy with photography stuff over the past several days. Benjamin helped me construct several other components of my garage studio, which is now mostly functional. I'm waiting for a photoflood lightbulb for my chinese lantern, as the 250 watt one I have is not bright enough and also has way too much of an orange cast. I took the boys' Preschool class pictures last week, and they turned out really cute. I'll attach of couple of them to this email. I also finished up with my maternity photo shoot proofing, and finished the slideshow tonight. I'll attach a link to that if you want to see it. I have at least 3 other photoshoots scheduled for the next couple of weeks, so that is all going well. Oh yeah, I also got my first order delivered, and received my first check! No, I didn't save it to frame it, I deposited it the next day... So I guess I'm officially in business. My website is still under construction, though. I need to work on that, hopefully tomorrow night I can get some more done.
Tomorrow morning I have a doctor's appointment with my MS doctor. He's squeezing me in before his regular appointments since he's going out of town, so I have to be down in Coral Gables by 7:30. I'm taking Mosey with me and dropping the boys off at Melissa's house at around 6:30 (which is coming up soon for me, since it's now almost 1 AM...). My leg is giving me a lot of trouble so I hope the doctor can give me something which will help. I am so ready for this attack to be over already!!
Ok, that's it for now. I promise to get better at keeping up with my updates so they are not so long and boring... LOL.
Good luck everyoen in everything you are doing!
April 27, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Long time, no update. It is very hard and busy being the mom of 5!! Ben got back on Wednesday night and the boys are so excited! And so am I! I got to go shopping BY MYSELF yesterday afternoon and it was so nice. But I am getting the hang of these 5 kids and things are way less stressful than they were a week ago. Well, it helps that my boys are in school 3 hours a day, too.
I've been busy taking care of kids, cleaning up after them, chauffering kids to school and back, taking Carter to piano lessons (2 this week since he had to make up one), and also at night trying to keep up with my photo editing. I am so happy with the way the maternity shots are coming. I'll share a few with you when I'm done.
Today while we were waiting for Carter to finish his piano lesson, the kids and I went out and played on the grass alongside a lake. I got out my camera to practice exposing for backlighting conditions, as well as focus in moving subjects... Always tough. I was pretty happy with how they came out though, slowly a higher percentage of my shots are actually acceptable. I played around with some of them tonight and I'll share them below. Harsh direct sunlight is really difficult to shoot in, and so backlighting the subject is pretty much the only way to go. But even with the sun behind them, it was still really bright and I did get quite a lot of squints. Oh well, they're still cute.
I am so excited for Benjamin to come tomorrow! Another helper I can recruit! No, just kidding. I'm excited to do some fun things with him and spend some time with him before he's gone for 2 whole years. I know the boys will be happy to see their uncle too.
Ok, well this is a short and sweet email. Can't write more, too tired!
Hey Everyone,
Long time, no update. It is very hard and busy being the mom of 5!! Ben got back on Wednesday night and the boys are so excited! And so am I! I got to go shopping BY MYSELF yesterday afternoon and it was so nice. But I am getting the hang of these 5 kids and things are way less stressful than they were a week ago. Well, it helps that my boys are in school 3 hours a day, too.
I've been busy taking care of kids, cleaning up after them, chauffering kids to school and back, taking Carter to piano lessons (2 this week since he had to make up one), and also at night trying to keep up with my photo editing. I am so happy with the way the maternity shots are coming. I'll share a few with you when I'm done.
Today while we were waiting for Carter to finish his piano lesson, the kids and I went out and played on the grass alongside a lake. I got out my camera to practice exposing for backlighting conditions, as well as focus in moving subjects... Always tough. I was pretty happy with how they came out though, slowly a higher percentage of my shots are actually acceptable. I played around with some of them tonight and I'll share them below. Harsh direct sunlight is really difficult to shoot in, and so backlighting the subject is pretty much the only way to go. But even with the sun behind them, it was still really bright and I did get quite a lot of squints. Oh well, they're still cute.
I am so excited for Benjamin to come tomorrow! Another helper I can recruit! No, just kidding. I'm excited to do some fun things with him and spend some time with him before he's gone for 2 whole years. I know the boys will be happy to see their uncle too.
Ok, well this is a short and sweet email. Can't write more, too tired!
April 23, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Here are the last several pictures of Mara that I proofed. I still have some of Elena and Jack, though.
I was tempted to work on the maternity pictures I did yesterday, but I suppose since I may get paid for some of those it wouldn't really be keeping the Sabbath day.
I hope you like them!
Here are the last several pictures of Mara that I proofed. I still have some of Elena and Jack, though.
I was tempted to work on the maternity pictures I did yesterday, but I suppose since I may get paid for some of those it wouldn't really be keeping the Sabbath day.
I hope you like them!
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