Snapshot

The kids change so quickly, and I've found that I love re-reading these snapshots of the little things they're doing at a certain point in time. So, here it is:

Alex

• Reading at a 5.7-8.0 AR level. That means my third grader is reading at a 6th-8th grade level. I wonder what he could do if he actually liked to read!?? Maybe he's coming around..he has been loving a 3-book series called Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
• Just took second place overall at the Pinewood Derby for the second year in a row. And, the three boys all worked together to build two cars - one for Alex and one for Luke. Alex didn't mind Luke's participation at 'his' Derby at all.
• Has a nickname - A-Rod. His friend Ryan gave him the nickname, and he's pretty pleased about it. He's been becoming better friends with Ryan, which is a good thing. Ryan is a really nice kid, and the two of them seem to get along really well.
• Favorite color is orange.

Julia

• Has been relatively healthy for the last couple of months. Most of December and all of January were good for her. In fact, she did NOT get the stomach flu when the rest of the kids had it. And, she's had healthy lungs. She does have a bit of a cough now, but it has certainly seemed as though the daily Pulmicort and Albuterol as needed are keeping her much healthier overall.
• Seizures have been okay, but not great - certainly not the kind of seizure control we would like with three meds and her VNS. It's time to re-evaluate things - whether that's with Dr. Colan or moving her neuro care to Children's. There are a couple of new meds out, so maybe one of those will be the ticket.
• Has been enjoying more time in her Little Room. In fact, we've all been spending more time downstairs since the Wii is now down there.

Luke

• Oh my goodness, listening to that boy is so darn entertaining. It's like he's got a 85-year-old man inside of him sometimes - his comments are insightful and really smart and kooky and he can just ramble on and on. A couple of examples: Today, he was doing a "Where's Waldo" book with Grandpa Stern. he took a break to get his hair cut, but Grandpa was supposed to keep searching. Grandpa tried to sneak a quick cat nap in, and Luke busted him - "Grandpa, you're not supposed to have your eyes closed!"
• Another example: Last night, Matt and I went out to dinner, so Grandma and Poppa Ertl came to babysit. Luke was looking forward to doing puzzles with Grandma. We were doing some quick grown-up visiting before Matt and I left, and Luke was getting impatient (an understatment). Finally, after about 5 minutes of grumbling, he asks Grandma, "Do you have glue on your seat?"
• The kid is a whiz at Mario Kart Wii. He can watch his position, his driving and his 'prizes' while giving a running commentary. "I'm really good at this track. That turtle is a pretty good driver, but I can beat him. I don't tell any of these guys my tricks. They don't tell me their tricks, and I want to beat them. I found a shortcut. If anyone asks me, I can tell them my tricks. But, no one ever asks me..."
• Friendly, friendly, friendly. Happy, happy, happy. Smiley, smiley, smiley. He can charm adults and kids, he makes friends so easily, and just has a love for life. He can also be incredibly relentless when he wants something, and very, very messy. I hope we can keep the crazy annoying stuff in perspective so we don't dim his wonderful light.
• Competitive - wants to be the first person in the house, the first to get his food, the first to give Poppa a hug.
• Usually gets along really, really well with Erica. The two of them can play for a long time without any issues. But, there's been a little more fighting lately. Combination of Erica getting more independent, and Luke wanting his chance to be the boss of everything (since Alex always lords over him.)
• Favorite color is pink.

Erica

• Still a major jabber jaws. Can put together 3-4 sentences in a row, have a decent conversation...she has a lot of her mother in her.
• Can count to 13 reliably.
• Is learning her ABCs.
• Recognizes numbers up to 10, all of her shapes, and all of her colors (except occasionally mixing up green and yellow). Thank you little purple Barney computer - she loves that thing. She does sometimes pretend to get things wrong or asks for help if we're not watching her closely enough for her liking.
• Grabs your head to turn it toward her if she wants your attention. Also says "Knock, knock" to get your attention.
• Gives super squeeze hugs.
• Loves Strawberry Shortcake. Also likes Dora, Diego and ponies.
• Loves to dance.
• Does the sign of the cross when she hears the bells in church.
• Is nearly over her fear of Father Rick and really warming up to him. Loves to get a special blessing from him when we go up for communion. Funny stories - the first time she got a blessing, as we walked away, she announced loudly, "Father like me!" At one point, she thought the blessing was the host and tried to wrangle one away from Father. The next week, when I said she could get a blessing from Father, she said, "I eat it?" She is very disappointed if we are on the side opposite of where Father gives up communion and she doesn't get a blessing.
• Loves to announce her whole name - Erica Hope Rosner!
• Gives 'super squeeze hugs' - she hugs your neck so tight and it is just the perfect hug!
• Favorite color is purple.

Sick, Sicker, Even Sicker, Sickest

It has been a long week. Tuesday night, Luke got the stomach flu. He got sick in his bed three times. Thursday afternoon, Erica got it. She got sick on the living room floor and while sitting on my lap. Thursday night, Alex and Matt got it. Alex got sick in his bed, then spent the rest of the night on the couch with the infamous green dishpan. Matt was able to make it to the bathroom, but spent most of the night camped out there. So, if you're counting, 4 out of 6 of us have been hit. Julia and I are hanging in there and praying we've been spared. Not so lucky for Dad - he got it yesterday, but is on the road to recovery now.

So sticking with my 'appreciate' theme, here is the silver lining:

1. This bug was fast and furious - it only stuck around about 24 hours or less for each sickee.
2. Dad scored that awesome carpet cleaner for us - it made one clean up job lots easier.
3. My kids were at home when they got it - not so lucky for the little girl in church today. Oh my.
4. The obvious - so far I haven't gotten it. And, even better, Julia hasn't.
5. I have an awesome washing machine that kept chugging along.

Fingers crossed, knock on wood - I sure hope we've seen the last of this for a LONG time.

MER

16 Things About Me

Well, it's the blogging thing to do, so here it is.

1 - I am into cooking, and I take it seriously. Most weeks, I create a menu plan and do my grocery shopping over the weekend so I have all my supplies. I love AllRecipes.com - it's a key part of my planning, and I usually get inspired to try a couple new recipes every week. A really well-executed week means we have planned leftovers for lunches, lots of good 'grinding' food and extra pucks for Julia and a least a couple of meals that everyone loves. A less stellar week means lots of PB&J sandwiches, some make-ahead dinners out of my freezer back-up and a trip (or two or three) to Cousins drive-thru.
2 - I've started wearing scarves again (not as in outdoor gear, but as in fashion). I have quite a few that were tucked in a drawer and unworn for years. Last week, another blogger posted some scarf-tying techniques, and I was inspired to dive into my stash. I've been able to put together a couple of outfits that wouldn't work without a scarf to pull it all together. I even got to wear a brand new pair of pants that I got on clearance, but didn't have anything to go with them until I did the scarf thing. Fashion at my fingertips.
3 - I love our redone bedroom. It's been a couple of months since we finished it, and I still get an "Ahhh" feeling every time I walk in there. The colors turned out perfect, and it is such a serene, relaxing space. Thinking about it gets my itching to do another re-do project. Basement, hallway, kitchen...what to tackle next!?
4 - Work is exciting right now. New ownership, Christine as the new VP of Marketing, new projects, new opportunities. It's been a long time since I've had work on the brain at home, but it's been good to stretch my mind with all of this "new".
5 - I love the mail. I can hear the mailtruck when it does the other side of Woodview Court, and I know it will be 45 minutes until delivery at our house. I practically dance out the door as soon as the mail arrives. This obsession is directly related to number 6.
6 - I am addicted to magazines. I have about 7 magazine subscriptions, and I regularly check magazines out from the library. Just can't get enough of them.
7 - As long as we're on the topic, I also LOVE to read. I take the kids to the library at least once a week, and I use the online searching/hold system to keep my reading queue filled so I am never without a good book to read. Luckily I am a super fast reader, so I can crank through a good book in an evening. Right now I am totally into vampire books - it started with the Twilight series, it moved to Sookie Stackhouse (done with all 8 of those), and now I'm into the Undead and ... (Unwed, Unemployed, etc) series.
8 - I have always worn my hair fairly short. It hit shoulder length for a while in the late 90's, but it's never been longer than that, and it's now a lot shorter. Since becoming a mom, my rule is that my hair has to be 'done' with no more styling than a quick blow dry. That works for me.
9 - I wear glasses all the time. I used to wear contacts most of the time, but that gave way to the ease of glasses nearly 10 years ago (yes, right about the time Alex arrived...no coincidence there). I tend to go for funky glasses now. One of my best splurges EVER was a pair of Juicy prescription sunglasses. They are brown and pink with a bit of bling and I just LOVE them.
10 - I take a lot of pictures. We got our first digital camera about 6 years ago, and I take thousands of pictures every year (the last couple of years, it's been around 10,000/year). One of my personal to-do's is to learn to take better pictures. I have a new Canon Rebel XTI (almost a year old now), and I still use the Auto setting for nearly all of my photos. It's time to take it to the next level.
11 - I love to play with color, and I'm not afraid of bold colors on the wall. I LOVE the orange wall in our Great Room. Before it was orange, it was a blend of deep red and dark blue (stipple painted). I love having a statement wall as the first thing people see when they come into our home. I think it says "Bold Personalities Live Here."
12 - I am fascinated by the sibling/family dynamics of our kids. It completely amazes me that 4 kids with the same DNA building blocks can turn out so different. And, it is amazing to see how those four personalities interact with one another. And, I must add it makes me so proud at a gut level that these children are mine.
13 - I am a multi-tasker. I usually have a lot of irons in the fire. I think this might be because my attention span keeps getting shorter and shorter. It might also be that my ambitions are greater than my waking hours. So many interesting things to do, so little free time to do it.
14 - My next creative project to learn is beading. I've already started accumulating the beads and some tools (and, no surprise, checked out some books from the library). Next step - gather everything I need and make my first creation from scratch.
15 - Movies don't have to be all that good for me to enjoy them. Matt and I go out so infrequently that just the time out in a quiet theater and comfy chair contents me.
16 - I think I have a fairly large amount of patience, but when it runs out, watch out. I can tolerate quite a bit of chaos and big voices and scattered toys and busy schedules, but when I reach the end of my rope, just back away.

Appreciate

I have to admit, I've pretty much abandoned making New Year's Resolutions. Somehow it seems that the busyness of the holidays leaves me without enough energy to think about a master plan to improve my life over the upcoming year. So, by the time I get my head around the fact that it is a new year, it's mid-January and the momentum is gone.

This year is different. Oh sure, I went through the first week ignoring the whole resolution thing. I toyed with the idea of doing a 365 photo project. I glanced over the 'word of the year' posts on the blogs of 'famous scrapbooking women'. I watched bits and pieces of Oprah's Best Life series. But, I didn't summon up enough hutzpa to actually do anything until today. And, really, it just kind of hit me unexpectedly.

The word hit me and just stuck. That word is appreciate. As in appreciate my blessings. As in show appreciation for those I love. As in appreciate what I have rather than regretting what I don't. But, I guess it's really not enough to just have a word. I need a plan.

So, here's the plan. This last week has been sending me bits and pieces of information that I've synthesized (oh, I love that word) into my big plan. At the root of it all, I want to appreciate the gifts I've gotten from God. So, I've been reading all kinds of books waiting for something to resonate. And, I found Beth Moore's "Believing God". Just picked it up from the library tonight (and, that library is near to the top of my appreciation list!). I've only started, and the ideas are still sinking in, but this book is going to be a big part of my plan. Read a blog by Leo Babauta that said change a habit rather than making resolutions. He says it only takes 10 minutes a day to create change. That's going to be the ticket. I'm going to work Beth's spiritual challenges into a plan that takes 10 minutes a day (okay, maybe a bit more), and I'm going to get closer to understanding God's plans and gifts and wonders for me.

I know, it's a little loosey goosey right now, but I can feel it in my heart that this plan is the thing I'm meant to do. I'm going to get stronger and kinder and happier...it's going to be good. This is not an idea that I can let just fade away. So, more details for this grand master plan and my progress to follow. Eventually...

Where I Come From?

Erica has developed a new fascination with where things come from. She's moved into areas I'm not sure how to explain to a 2-year-old (especially with her interested 4- and 8-year-old brothers listening closely to my answers...)

Q (Erica): Where do cows come from, Mommy? A (me): Their mommies.
Q: Where do chickens come from? A: Eggs.
Q: Where I come from? A: Silence (with me hoping she would move on to something else since I don't have a quick answer for this one.) The silence did not work.
Q: Talk to me, Mommy! Where I come from? A: From my belly. Her response: No way! I not live there. That not my home. I not fit in there. Me: Yes, you did fit in there when you were a baby. My belly was really big. Her: No way. I fall down and get hurt (meaning that she would fall out of my belly.) Me: Don't worry. The doctor made sure you were okay and she didn't let you fall.

Time to change the subject! But, she does now believe that she came from my belly. And, she'll tell anyone who asks.

The Nativity Tea Party

Here's a Christmas story you may not have heard before. Today, Erica was having the tiniest tea party using the parts of the Playmobile Nativity set. No, those are not gold, frankincense and myrrh...that's a teapot and milk. And, did you know the set even comes with a princess crown and magic wand. Oh sure, the original intent may have been for the regal king to use it, but now it has new purpose for the 2-year-old princess in our house.

At least she knows the baby's name is Jesus.

The Great Diaper Decisions

I have probably logged over 10,000 diaper changes - (4 kids x 1055 days in diapers each x 5 diapers a day)/2 parents changing diapers = 10950. At a minute per diaper change, that's over 180 hours of my life changing diapers...more than a solid week of time. That is both amazing and just a wee bit depressing.

Thank goodness my last baby has found a way to make diaper changes fun, funny and new. For her, diapers are a fashion statement. The 'who' on the front of the diaper is of great importance. In our house, the 'who' is one of the Sesame Street characters. So, the game can go a few different ways. 1 - Mom picks the top diaper off the top of the pile, keeping the identity of the 'who' hidden from Erica. Then, Erica has to guess who it is. Sometimes Mom gives clues (he's orange with blue hair...ERNIE). 2 - Erica pulls out every diaper from under the sink and hunts for one of her favorites. And, who are her favorites you ask? That would be either Zoe, Cookie Monster or Big Bird. 3 - The most sophisticated version of the game - Erica asks who is on Julia's diaper so that they can match. Or, even better, both girls are next to each other getting diaper changes, matching diapers and the who on the front of both is Zoe. Now, that is sisterly bonding.

No matter how the game goes, Elmo is always on the back.

Okay, I agree - all of those stinky diaper fumes have gone to my head, and I am that much closer to being totally nuts. And, yes, I do need to get out more. But, sooner or later (and I'm hoping for the sooner), my baby will be potty trained, and our little diaper game will be over. So, I'm smiling while it lasts.

Maybe we have a Pampers commercial here...