I arrived at my blog this evening after more than two weeks to discover it is still on day 1 of vacation that happened about three weeks ago. Hmmm. In good news, I blogged one day of our vacation already! (Which for those long timers you know sometimes thins get missed altogether). In less good news, that means I haven't done the other days or much that has happened since then. Ok..... Did I mention we've been moving? Anyway, this week in ten on Tuesday is below.4
1) B had a migraine possibly caused by or combined with a virus yesterday. He had had a headache for portions of the prior 3 days, but yesterday was substantially worse. We visited the Doctor and then proceeded to throw all kinds of meds at him to try and break the headache. We also tried to keep it quiet and dark so he could sleep..... His sister is not good at quiet, and he wanted me nearby, which was trick as I had an irresistible computer on my lap that was distracting. I was already envisioning brain surgery logistics when my amazing boy woke up the next day as his cheerful energetic self. It remains completely unclear what happened, if it will happen again, etc... We are watching carefully and keeping the doctor updated. PS. I love my pediatrician. He called and emailed with me throughout the hard day that was yesterday and then called again today with apologies that it took so long. He is a great fit for me and our family. Hooray!
2. Each kid now has a chart to keep track of progress towards their individual goals. The charts are coupled with some ambiguous prizes (Yes, I am bad at goal setting.. oops?) E's chart is for potty training, B's is for acts of kindness, M's is for cleaning her room before bed daily. Everyone is doing pretty well at the close of day 2. E's having some trouble with the more difficult aspects of his chart (#2) but doing much better in general. He is currently getting caramel kisses and ninja turtle stickers as rewards, which is pretty motivational!
3. Brent is leading the GE Foundation's Oklahoma STEM Science Academy (I think there is a better title, but you get the drift). He has been working on this and the partner camp next week all year. I think it is going to be great for the school and he is certainly learning a lot. I wish he could be here more to work on projects as I attempt to pull the house together, but I get what is happening, have no expectations of him being around until August, and am mostly trying to do and prep the projects as I can for his small windows of time or August. Also, since buying this house there has yet to be a full weekend day that we have been here together or even in the metro area all day.... SO that could be part of the problem. Everything we've done on the weekends has been lovely though - we spent one day celebrating Serenity's birthday in Tulsa, one day playing at the lake, 1.5 days at the farm playing with cousins, cats, grandma, and the tree house, and some time with GW folks in the city, plus some weekend time at work for Brent. It has been good, but still, tricky.
4. B is signed up for fall baseball with his team from the last two seasons. He seems enthusiastic and I actually like the fall season lot more even though it is busy, it should take quite a few less weeks and hopefully in good weather.
5. I am increasingly wishing I knew more about carpentry or that my dad was around (OK I always wish that). Neither Brent and I entered this marriage with much carpentry know-how but now, more than ever, have a lot of things that need building. We also have almost no tools. Happily, my brother and brother-in-law do have tools and know-how, but have very little time. Audra and I are thinking of just teaching ourselves via pinterest. I'm sure that will work, especially while watching five kids under 8, right?
6. The great window covering debacle mentioned previously is almost resolved. The last window coverings have been ordered. Of course some of these with curtains may later require blinds and vice versa, but in a world with broken AC we just need them covered. OH wait, I forgot to mention the no AC for the last week or for another week to go. It is pretty bad and really frustrating, but sometime around the 29th I should have an almost new, almost free AC unit. Right now, after a rainy day, two new fans (courtesy of insurance) and the upstairs unit running nonstop it is down to 76 and I'm feeling a little chilly, actually. We're adapting, but do get 500% more things done towards actually unpacking and setting up house when it isn't over 80 degrees inside.
7. I've also managed to pick out bar stools, put out poison for slugs, hang some things on the wall (with help from Audra & Brent), mulch a couple areas in the front yard, organize all the kid craft stuff, buy tons of supplies for other projects, unpack boxes, do my day job, etc. . . today so feeling quite accomplished. Also, possibly had too much caffeine.
8. My college room mate and friend of 18 years now, Mary, and her husband Andy welcomed their second son - Oscar Gabriel Moran yesterday. E and I are going to o visit in a few weeks to play with the big brother and help everyone out. I'm really excited about this visit. I had hoped to go when Isaac was born, but was 8 months pregnant so that didn't work out.
9. I love our new house. I really do. There are upteen problems, things to fix, things to improve, etc...(Ok, think closer to 50), and it is hard, expensive work so far, but at the end of the day I feel really lucky to live here. I hope we can turn it in to something relaxing and wonderful (before we completely run out of money). It is a great adventure and we do have lots of time to make it work.
10. Lady M resumes French lessons tomorrow per her request. I think it is time as she needs that one on one time and to focus on something for a bit that gets her thinking again. That said, she requested math to do on Friday and then blazed through all the multitude of sheets I had printed. Not all of them completely followed the directions, but she seemed to enjoy it. She has also been making crafts daily for everyone as more craft supplies emerge. Today, she was on a bracelet making tear so we all had multiple bracelets in the afternoon. She also created her first crudité platter from her fancy nancy tea party book and would really like to cook more with me, but the blazing heat and my need to work have been getting in the way. Hopefully we can get that moving again soon. Historically, M has been our greatest challenge, but she has largely come round the curve and has been a big help and a delight. I love to see her grow, learn, and share her excitement about so many things. I also love that she spent part of the morning dancing in the rain in our new big front yard. SO cool.
1) B had a migraine possibly caused by or combined with a virus yesterday. He had had a headache for portions of the prior 3 days, but yesterday was substantially worse. We visited the Doctor and then proceeded to throw all kinds of meds at him to try and break the headache. We also tried to keep it quiet and dark so he could sleep..... His sister is not good at quiet, and he wanted me nearby, which was trick as I had an irresistible computer on my lap that was distracting. I was already envisioning brain surgery logistics when my amazing boy woke up the next day as his cheerful energetic self. It remains completely unclear what happened, if it will happen again, etc... We are watching carefully and keeping the doctor updated. PS. I love my pediatrician. He called and emailed with me throughout the hard day that was yesterday and then called again today with apologies that it took so long. He is a great fit for me and our family. Hooray!
2. Each kid now has a chart to keep track of progress towards their individual goals. The charts are coupled with some ambiguous prizes (Yes, I am bad at goal setting.. oops?) E's chart is for potty training, B's is for acts of kindness, M's is for cleaning her room before bed daily. Everyone is doing pretty well at the close of day 2. E's having some trouble with the more difficult aspects of his chart (#2) but doing much better in general. He is currently getting caramel kisses and ninja turtle stickers as rewards, which is pretty motivational!
3. Brent is leading the GE Foundation's Oklahoma STEM Science Academy (I think there is a better title, but you get the drift). He has been working on this and the partner camp next week all year. I think it is going to be great for the school and he is certainly learning a lot. I wish he could be here more to work on projects as I attempt to pull the house together, but I get what is happening, have no expectations of him being around until August, and am mostly trying to do and prep the projects as I can for his small windows of time or August. Also, since buying this house there has yet to be a full weekend day that we have been here together or even in the metro area all day.... SO that could be part of the problem. Everything we've done on the weekends has been lovely though - we spent one day celebrating Serenity's birthday in Tulsa, one day playing at the lake, 1.5 days at the farm playing with cousins, cats, grandma, and the tree house, and some time with GW folks in the city, plus some weekend time at work for Brent. It has been good, but still, tricky.
4. B is signed up for fall baseball with his team from the last two seasons. He seems enthusiastic and I actually like the fall season lot more even though it is busy, it should take quite a few less weeks and hopefully in good weather.
5. I am increasingly wishing I knew more about carpentry or that my dad was around (OK I always wish that). Neither Brent and I entered this marriage with much carpentry know-how but now, more than ever, have a lot of things that need building. We also have almost no tools. Happily, my brother and brother-in-law do have tools and know-how, but have very little time. Audra and I are thinking of just teaching ourselves via pinterest. I'm sure that will work, especially while watching five kids under 8, right?
6. The great window covering debacle mentioned previously is almost resolved. The last window coverings have been ordered. Of course some of these with curtains may later require blinds and vice versa, but in a world with broken AC we just need them covered. OH wait, I forgot to mention the no AC for the last week or for another week to go. It is pretty bad and really frustrating, but sometime around the 29th I should have an almost new, almost free AC unit. Right now, after a rainy day, two new fans (courtesy of insurance) and the upstairs unit running nonstop it is down to 76 and I'm feeling a little chilly, actually. We're adapting, but do get 500% more things done towards actually unpacking and setting up house when it isn't over 80 degrees inside.
7. I've also managed to pick out bar stools, put out poison for slugs, hang some things on the wall (with help from Audra & Brent), mulch a couple areas in the front yard, organize all the kid craft stuff, buy tons of supplies for other projects, unpack boxes, do my day job, etc. . . today so feeling quite accomplished. Also, possibly had too much caffeine.
8. My college room mate and friend of 18 years now, Mary, and her husband Andy welcomed their second son - Oscar Gabriel Moran yesterday. E and I are going to o visit in a few weeks to play with the big brother and help everyone out. I'm really excited about this visit. I had hoped to go when Isaac was born, but was 8 months pregnant so that didn't work out.
9. I love our new house. I really do. There are upteen problems, things to fix, things to improve, etc...(Ok, think closer to 50), and it is hard, expensive work so far, but at the end of the day I feel really lucky to live here. I hope we can turn it in to something relaxing and wonderful (before we completely run out of money). It is a great adventure and we do have lots of time to make it work.
10. Lady M resumes French lessons tomorrow per her request. I think it is time as she needs that one on one time and to focus on something for a bit that gets her thinking again. That said, she requested math to do on Friday and then blazed through all the multitude of sheets I had printed. Not all of them completely followed the directions, but she seemed to enjoy it. She has also been making crafts daily for everyone as more craft supplies emerge. Today, she was on a bracelet making tear so we all had multiple bracelets in the afternoon. She also created her first crudité platter from her fancy nancy tea party book and would really like to cook more with me, but the blazing heat and my need to work have been getting in the way. Hopefully we can get that moving again soon. Historically, M has been our greatest challenge, but she has largely come round the curve and has been a big help and a delight. I love to see her grow, learn, and share her excitement about so many things. I also love that she spent part of the morning dancing in the rain in our new big front yard. SO cool.
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